"I cannot believe he's going after MJ, Pippen" - Vin Baker picks Gary Payton as the best trash-talker of all time over Kevin Garnett
Trash-talking is a lost art in the NBA, but back in the day, there were some vicious trash-talkers you did not want to rub the wrong way. One guy who saw many of these legendary trash-talkers in action was Vin Baker, and he played alongside a pair of them at different points of his career in: Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett.
Both Payton and Garnett are notorious for being two of the most aggressive trash-talkers in NBA history, which led Baker to a tough decision when he was asked to pick which guy was better than the other.
Vin Baker makes a tough choice between Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett
Baker spent five seasons playing alongside Payton on the Seattle Supersonics, and he also played with Garnett on the 2000 Team USA Olympics squad. So, as a result, Baker overheard a lot of trash talk being dished out to their opponents, and he also probably took some heat during practices with these guys too.
When asked whether Payton or Garnett was the better trash talker, Baker leaned with Payton because he never backed down from superstar players, even Michael Jordan.
“The reason I’d go with Gary is because there wasn’t a person he wouldn’t do it to, and I’m not saying KG wouldn’t, I know KG went after the great ones as well, but man, I used to be like ‘I cannot believe he’s going after MJ, Pippen.’ Some of the people he went after, Malone, there’s video footage of it in the playoffs, I think 2000, of him going after, and I don’t mean just like normal trash talk, I mean violent trash talk."
"Me coming from Milwaukee, I’m like ‘Man, this is crazy.’ I would have never said this in Milwaukee…I think KG had some limitations, but Gary had no limitations. It could be fans, it could be coaches, it could be the best player in the world, there were no limitations. And the interesting part with Gary is I would say 95 to 96 percent of the people he trash talked didn’t want to trash talk him back.” Vin Baker said on Iconic Sonics
Gary Payton’s trash talk still resonates with Vin Baker
Payton is widely regarded as one of the greatest two-way players of all time, and his defensive tenacity was largely helped by his ability to impact his opponent’s mentality. Payton found a way to get into people’s heads with his words, and for a game that relies so heavily on confidence, he had a way of destroying the confidence of players who had the misfortune of matching up with him.
Garnett did the same thing, but Baker witnessing Payton talk trash to Jordan helped swing the decision in his favor. Both guys are trash-talked legends for good reason, but there’s a reason why Payton is so widely considered the greatest trash-talker of all time.
He simply backed down from nobody, and that mentality left a big impression on one of his former teammates in, Baker. Garnett was certainly a guy you didn’t want to mess with either, but Payton gets Baker’s vote here, and chances are hundreds of former players who went up against the Supersonics star would likely agree with his choice.
