Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett each had unique personalities that rubbed plenty of people the wrong way during their NBA playing days, and that includes one another. When the two big men shared the court together as competitors, tempers sometimes ran hot. One specific encounter in 2015 saw the two stars nearly come to blows, apparently both during and after the game.
In a contest between the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, Howard and Garnett got into a physical altercation that resulted in both guys being separated. Garnett initiated the contact with a shove after he was whistled for a foul and was suspended one game for headbutting. Howard swung at Garnett at one point and was fined $15,000 for his role in the skirmish.
The Big Ticket was unhinged and desperate to get his hands on the three-time Defensive Player of the year, so much so that he planned to seek him out in the locker room area after the action concluded.
“I haven’t wanted smoke in a very long time, I wanted so much smoke there,” Garnett said while recalling the incident with Howard on the latter’s podcast, “Above The Rim with DH 12.” “I got dressed early, because people don’t know that when we left the court, we were still in the back {jawing at each other}. I was ready to {go}, then I looked up and saw my wife and my kid walk out and then I snapped out of it. Like ‘what are you doing?’”
Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett worked out their issues
The NBA world narrowly missed out on what could have been a WWE-style backstage brawl. Howard says he reached out to Garnett after the fiery confrontation and attempted to clear the air.
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“When we got into it, I was like ‘damn, this is my favorite player and we about to fight,” he told the 2004 MVP. “So I was like ‘why me and KG always getting into it…. Let me go holler at him.’ So, that’s when I came in {the locker room} and I was just like, ‘man, why does it seem like we always got beef when we play?’”
The gesture made an impression on Garnett, and by the 2008 champion’s own admission, it caused him to operate with a little less ferocity in his later years. A conversation prevented these two titans from unleashing mayhem in another arena or parking lot.
The past animosity has cooled based on the chumminess exhibited by both Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett during the podcast. When considering the situation that each man was in at the time of their respective careers, it makes sense that tensions were a bit high. Perhaps Howard and Shaquille O’Neal can find common ground as well.
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