The prep-to-pro era in the NBA was a fascinating time in the league’s long and colorful history. With high school standouts free to make the jump straight to the big league, it paved the way for some of the sport’s biggest and most influential stars. From 1995 to 2005, players like Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard and LeBron James joined the league and soon established themselves as premier talents.
One player who also made the jump during this era was Kevin Garnett. But as easy as the Big Ticket made things look playing against older and stronger foes, he revealed that deciding to forego his college eligibility to play in the NBA took some convincing. One pivotal encounter with Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, though, became the turning point that gave him the confidence to take the crucial leap forward.
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KG didn’t back down from Scottie
Garnett was a superstar at Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, making a name for himself as a fearless and high-motor player who, despite his size at 6’11”, could do it all. From handling and dishing the ball like a guard to playing inside the shaded lane like a legitimate big man, KG was a rare breed of talent that had people talking. However, despite all the accolades Kevin received and the success he achieved on the court, a part of him still wasn’t convinced he was ready for the big time.
However, a summer run with Pip changed all that. At that time, Scottie was already an established NBA superstar who had three NBA titles and numerous All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive Team citations. However, all these achievements meant little to KG on the basketball court, and while he didn’t detail what happened, what was clear was that Garnett got in Pippen’s face.
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“I played Scottie Pippen in the summer one time. And we got to, like, a little s—t, like, a little, I don’t even know. A little pushing match? Elbow? Some s—t, I don’t know what Scottie was doing,” KG revealed. “But you know, he’s Scottie Pippen, and he’s a beast. Super GOAT. And I just stood my ground.”
The NBA is undoubtedly a man’s world. It’s a league populated by men who had worked all their lives to not only make it in the league but, more importantly, stay there. For KG, that altercation with the veteran Pip told him everything he needed to know about the environment he was entering into. In a world where only the strong survive, Garnett knew he had to be mentally and physically tough if he wanted to succeed.
“It wasn’t until then that I had confidence in myself and my skills, that the stuff that I was having confidence in was working, which built my confidence even more after playing him,” Garnett shared.
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A talk with Zeke sealed the deal
Playing high school basketball in Chicago also allowed Garnett to build a relationship with another Chicago hoops legend, Isiah Thomas. Although he’s more known for the time he spent playing for the Detroit Pistons, he was actually born and raised in the rough neighborhood of West Side, Chicago. KG shared that he talked with Zeke, which also emboldened him to make the prep-to-pros jump.
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“I sat and I had a conversation, probably like a three-, four-hour conversation with Isiah Thomas about the West Side of Chicago and 16th Street and what I have to deal with every day, and he knew all of it,” Garnett shared. “And the ABCs that goes with Chicago. Again, I’m gonna use the word’ intangibles,’ that come along with Chicago and going to school and playing in the Red West [Conference]. Like, he understood all that.
“We got to talk about street s—t and just everyday stuff, right? Soon as I talked to Isiah Thomas, I knew it. I was committed,” he asserted.
With unwavering determination, KG dove headfirst into the challenge and never looked back. His journey was far from easy — Kevin’s rookie season was particularly tough — but once he found his footing, his rise was unstoppable. By Garnett’s second season, he earned All-Star status. By his third, he had established himself as a defensive powerhouse. And by his fourth season, The Big Ticket was already being recognized as MVP material.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.