When it comes to the NBA, few players are as loud and animated as the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett. No matter the situation, he's always bounding up and down the court screaming and making key plays to win games. An 11 time All-Star, the 2004 league MVP and most recently, NBA champion, Garnett is one of professional basketball's role models. He's also on the cover of 2K Sports' NBA 2K9, which drops October 7. Garnett took a break from dunking to talk about the video game and winning his first ring.
What do you think of NBA 2K9?
I love it. Obviously, I'm blessed to be on the cover, but from the Living Rosters to the five-on-five online to the chest pounding; the small details that go into the game. I love it.
They didn't include your cursing though.
[Laughs] I didn't see that feature on there. A lot of people call it cursing. I call it my linking words. It links one sentence to the next. It's straight to the point.
What impact do you see Living Rosters having on the way people play video games this year?
I think it's big man. The fact that it keeps track of all the players and their progress says a lot. I've always said that the things 2K does are the future of gaming. The detail with the sweat and the Shot Stick and all that, that's true basketball. You just don't hit a button and something happens. I've always viewed it as the next level.
What other games do you play?
FIFA. I play a lot of FIFA, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six. But FIFA and Call of Duty I go back and forth with. I love soccer. I'm a huge soccer fan.
Who do you play as?
My team? I play with A.C. Milan. I'm also a huge Chelsea fan.
When you came out of high school, did you ever expect this would all happen to you?
No, you can't expect this man. My reality is that I've been able to work hard and I've been fortunate to be a part of a lot of very special campaigns. I've been able to see the world, show my friends different parts of the world. We've been able to share countless memories together. You can't expect nothing like this. The things that I've been able to do, the experience is life changing.
What other games are you looking forward to this year?
FIFA 09. [I'm] definitely looking forward to that. When it comes to the Army games, the first person shooting games, I've always waited for those. But I'm a huge sports guy. A lot of my friends and I are in different parts of the world, so that brings us all together.
How does the loss of James Posey affect your team this year?
Obviously, we lose a leader. We lose someone who's been in the thick of it. He won prior to coming to Boston with two squads, but at the same time, he wants to accomplish something for himself in the league and you have to respect that. I root for him, other than when he plays against the Celtics, but it gives us a chance to show some maturity and what we learned last year, so I'm looking forward to that.
What does it mean to put on that Celtics uniform?
It means everything man. It means everything. When you put on that jersey you carry a tradition, and to win it means that you're carrying on tradition, so that was huge. A lot of responsibility comes with that.
When it comes to your teammates, who are the big gamers and where do you rank?
Leon Powe and Big Baby Glen Davis play. A lot of our young guys play the games. Big Baby's really good at Madden, Leon's really good at 2K. I'm probably about .500 with both of them. Even though I will admit that sometimes... because Leon's good with one team, he'll get Lebron James and he's good. If you make him get somebody else he's not as good. I think that when you're good you're able to get any team and survive.
Do you have any favorite video games from back in the day?
Tecmo Bowl, Contra, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede. Those are some of the games I'd sit in the house and play. Double Dribble.
Have you seen the new Tecmo Bowl?
No. They have a new Tecmo Bowl? Really? I just learned something then. I'm looking forward to that. I'll make sure I check that.
It's for Nintendo DS, so you can take it on the road.
I travel with my own console though. I'm kind of weird like that. I have the suitcase for it, so why not?
When new video games come out, how popular and what role do the ratings have? Do you guys check that out and see where you rank in the video game?
No. I'm probably more interested in the team than the individual. If I'm playing somebody and they got a guy that I know is not as good and he's killing, I might check the ratings then.
When it comes to winning a championship, how does that change you going into this year?
I don't think I've really changed much. Obviously, it validates everything that you've been doing. You accomplish something that you've wanted to accomplish being in this league, but for myself, the competition, the fact that I'm getting better, I'm in love with that. That's what keeps me motivated, the fact that now you're considered a winner and a champion, and people want to take you off that. That's motivation within itself, so I'm looking forward to this year. I've never been a champion officially to defend it, so it should be fun.
Reader Comments (2)
By the way, do you seek out the most boring photos of your subject material possible? Or do you just grab the first Google images return and use that?
Awesome job following up on the interesting answers. Like, what the hell kind of briefcase do you carry your 360 in? And how do you not ask one of the most famous COD4 players if he runs online, and if people ever find out they're playing with/against a World Champion? I'm really tired of this site being covered in fail. And yes, I could do better. Give me the resources in AOL, and I'd be a dangerous man. But no, you guys continue to sniff out great stories and turn them into book reports. Everyone in your office needs to figure out what they're good at, and then go work in that field, because video games and blogging just isn't your collective forte.