Kevin Garnett explains why Rasheed Wallace was his toughest opponent instead of Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett explains what made Rasheed almost unstoppable
Kevin Garnett recently made a surprising statement saying Rasheed Wallace was his toughest matchup instead of Tim Duncan or some other power forwards that played during that era.
Rasheed was Garnett's toughest cover
In a recent interview for Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Garnett locked back at his HOF career that spanned through two decades. He had the opportunity to go up against a lot of great players in his career at the forward position, and even though his name is often associated with Tim Duncan's, Garnett admits that wasn't his toughest matchup. Surprisingly, he said Rasheed Wallace was the guy he had the most problems guarding throughout his career.
Rasheed nowadays doesn't get the recognition he deserves even though he was considered among the top 3 power forwards in the NBA for a few years. Since they both came to the NBA at about the same time, Garnett had numerous battles against Rasheed throughout the years, giving him a better understanding of what type of player he was. Unlike a lot of forwards during that time that dominated from the post, Rasheed was able to hit an outside shot which presented the biggest problem for Garnett when defending him.
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"My toughest cover was probably Rasheed Wallace, and no disrespect to Timmy and no disrespect to all the other fours and threes I played. Rasheed Wallace would never talk real shit to me, but he was just hard. He was long, couldn't never block his shot cause he would put the arc on the ball. He would shoot threes. He never put the ball on the floor, and I always tried to make him put the ball on the floor, but he would never do that. He was just a tough cover for me. Throughout these years, you don't get anything easy, everybody is coming with their best, and you get everybody's best."
Rasheed made a name for himself as a fierce competitor on both ends of the floor just like Garnett did, being extremely tough and using his trash-talking to get into this opponent's head. He was a member of a few iconic NBA teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and the Detroit Pistons, with whom he won a championship in 2004. Interestingly, if you look at his stats throughout the years, Rasheed never averaged more than 20 points per game. Still, his impact is undeniable, and just as Garnett said, he was a tough cover and undeniably one of the best power forwards of that era.
