Lakers superstar LeBron James recently became the first player in NBA history to surpass 40,000 career points.
The milestone alone is a big deal — but if you ask Kevin Garnett, it should have been bigger.
In the first half of a primetime game against the Nuggets, James scored his 40,000th point on a spinning layup. At the next timeout, James was honored with a video tribute and was given the game ball.
If you let Garnett tell it, that wasn’t enough.
“They didn’t do the 40,000 right,” James told Paul Pierce on the “Ticket & The Truth” show. “Nike’s supposed to have been on the side with shoes. He’s supposed to come out with 40,000.”
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In true Garnett fashion, he was beyond animated in his explanation. The Hall of Famer used colorful language to outline what the Lakers and the NBA should have done to honor James while citing examples of other historic milestones and tentpole events.
“You know the league — halftime, when they had our f—ing All-Star jerseys, you had to take the jersey off and put on a whole new jersey. You know why?” Garnett rhetorically asked Pierce. “Because they had already auctioned your s— off.”
Garnett is referring to a very real NBA All-Star Game practice that requires players to change into a new set of the same uniforms during halftime. In doing so, players get to keep a uniform that is game-worn while the auctioned-off set from the first half can also be accurately described as game-worn.
The analysis from Garnett doubled as commentary on the league’s tendency to commercialize and “tokenize” major moments in the history of the game. If the league’s current practices were in place during the 1961-62 season, Garnett added, “they would have tokenized [Wilt Chamberlain’s] 100-point game.”
As for what the NBA should have done to honor James’ moment, Garnett had plenty of suggestions.
“You was supposed to stop the game,” Garnett said. “You was supposed to pay homage and when we go to f—ing Massachusetts, we’re going to have a whole display of the 40,000 — not only the ball but the jersey, the shoes, the socks … whatever he had on for 40,000, it’s supposed to be in its own case.”
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Garnett is referring to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., which is home to countless artifacts honoring the greatest moments in NBA history.
Like James, Garnett ascended into superstardom after bypassing college to enter the league at 18 years old. The two also share the distinction of longest careers for players selected straight out of high school — Garnett retired after his 21st season while James is making history in Year 21.
Perhaps Garnett’s unique ability to relate to James’ journey — and his unique appreciation from their time as rivals — is why the Hall of Famer is so passionate about how the future Hall of Famer should be honored.
Needless to say, whenever James is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the amount of fanfare will likely make Garnett proud.