Kevin Garnett officially announced his retirement a little more than a year ago. That doesn’t mean, though, the future Hall of Famer has stopped being around the game. Whether it’s his weekly appearances on “Area 21” as a part of “Inside the NBA” on TNT or helping out as a consultant with the LA Clippers, Garnett has a love of teaching the game deep in his blood.
The Clippers aren’t the only NBA team Garnett has imparted his wisdom upon, as he visited the Milwaukee Bucks around this time a year ago. He was back on the scene yesterday and as intense as ever, putting youngsters Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker through the paces. Matt Velazquez of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more from KG’s visit yesterday:
Clad in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, Garnett put second-year center Thon Maker through a workout following the team’s practice. The intensity was palpable as the 41-year-old, 15-time all-star, 2004 MVP and 2008 NBA champion demanded focus, excellence and hard work from the 20-year-old center.
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Before arriving in Milwaukee, Garnett had watched film of the Bucks and was prepared to tailor his lessons accordingly, and not just to Maker. In the morning before practice, Garnett put Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton through their own workout.
“He mentioned (watching film) when we first got in here this morning with me and Giannis,” Maker said. “He was like, ‘I’ve been watching you guys. I’ve been watching this, I’ve been watching that, you’ve got to get rid of this, keep this, keep doing this.’ And you kind of think like, ‘OK, so he’s spending time to watch you and try to come back with something to give you. Something positive or something to help your game with.’ It’s big, it’s pretty big. So you’ve got to concentrate, pay attention and go to work.”
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“I had a slow start, but in terms of myself and having that mindset, I kind of got a chance to look at it again today when we spoke and worked on a few things,” Maker said. “It’s the approach. I keep on mentioning that because if you have the right mindset, the right approach, you just automatically tell your body to do that work. It’s something I’ve been missing early on this year but I’m getting back to it.”
