Former MVP winner and NBA Champion Kevin Garnett had a harsh criticism for Victor Wembanyama after the San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference Finals. Garnett didn’t like Wembanyama crying and showing full emotion after pulling off the shocking Game 7 victory on the road. Most fans enjoyed seeing Wemby fully in the moment after making his first NBA Finals appearance so early into his career.
Garnett shared the following insight on his podcast about the emotional reaction:
“Guess what? The alien got to go through some heartache to be able to tell the fairy tale Hallmark card story. You understand? He got to go through some bulls–t. He’s crying in the motherf—–g Western Conference finals? That was too emotional for me.
Yeah, man. He’s got four more games to try to get. You’ve got to go through the finals now. Nah, you still got to be even keeled right here. And that trophy that ain’t [your goal]. ‘That’s cool. Yeah, we beat them. Cool. But I got a whole other [thing in] sight, and it’s up here.’”
Wembanyama was criticized for not being even keeled enough and reacting with full emotion for winning the Western Conference. Garnett went a bit far in calling out Wemby for this since the 22-year-old just led his all-time young roster to the NBA Finals.
Kevin Garnett Picked Against Wemby’s Spurs
Wembanyama’s Spurs are currently the betting favorites to get past the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. However, Garnett felt that Wemby’s emotions and the Spurs looking satisfied with their Game 7 win were telling signs they aren’t ready for an NBA Championship.
KG made the following bold prediction about the NBA Finals:
“Give me the Knicks in six, Give me the Knicks in six, they wrap everything up in six, and they’ll be wrapped up before 18.”
Garnett expects the Knicks to take advantage of the younger team and to bring home the first NBA Championship in over 50 years. San Antonio players likely won’t enjoy hearing a prediction made based on how they reacted to dethroning the defending NBA Champions. The former Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics great was adamant that he doesn’t see the Spurs being ready for the ultimate big sports stage.
Why Victor Wembanyama Was So Emotional
Garnett is not being fully fair to Wembanyama when talking about his emotions without explaining the context. Wemby is among the youngest NBA superstars to ever lead his franchise to the NBA Finals and did it in a grueling series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder looked like a juggernaut all season after finishing their third straight year with the best record in the Western Conference. Zero losses in the first two series made them look even more unbeatable heading into the San Antonio matchup.
Wembanyama and the Spurs had to give their all to have a chance in such a difficult series and overcame a 3-2 series deficit. Garnett was an emotional player in the negative context of often getting into scuffles and getting called for technical fouls. The criticism seems strange from KG to get mad about a young kid accomplishing something important.
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