"Gonna dedicate a son to Kobe": Kevin Garnett opens up on wish to build on his personal connection to late Kobe Bryant

Boston Celtics icon Kevin Garnett has long been outspoken about his respect and admiration for his former rival, Kobe Bryant. However, Garnett hopes to one day take his appreciation for the late Lakers legend to the next level.

During a recent appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Garnett spoke about how he and Bryant shared the same killer mindset on the court. He said this mindset made him a huge fan of the former MVP:

“Let's just keep it real, man. Kobe saw this s**t the same way I saw it. Kill or be killed. He was savage at this s**t,” Garnett said.

“He didn't give any f**ks about it. When we hit that floor, he knew what it was, and I loved him for it.”

Garnett then spoke about how much he misses Bryant before sharing his plans to dedicate his future son to the Lakers legend:

“I'm gonna have a son someday. I don't know when and where, but I'm gonna dedicate a son to Kobe, man,” Garnett said.

(2:27 mark below)

Garnett has two children with his ex-wife Brandi Padilla. However, both are daughters, named Capri and Kavalli. It remains to be seen if the 47-year-old will have a son in the future whom he can dedicate to Bryant.

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Kevin Garnett on whether the Celtics should have won the 2010 NBA Finals

Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics lost a hard-fought seven-game battle to Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals, falling 4-3. Boston dealt with numerous injuries during the series. However, Garnett doesn’t see that as a viable excuse for why the Celtics came up short.

Later in his appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Garnett was asked whether there would have been a different outcome if Boston was fully healthy. He then broke down how both teams weren’t 100% after going through the wear and tear of deep playoff runs:

“I’ll say this, all 10 guys, everybody out there was dealing with something. Nobody was 100%,” Garnett said.

“You think the Lakers were 100%? You think Kobe Bryant was feeling great? … Nah, everybody was out there on 2 or 3% trying to make it happen.”

Garnett said the Celtics had their chance but took it for granted, as they thought they would have another shot at a title. However, they learned the hard way, as their core never made another finals appearance together:

“I look at it like, you want your chance, you get your chance, and you know what? You didn’t take advantage of it,” Garnett said.

“We thought we were gonna have another chance to go back at that, and you know, that’s the lesson in that.”

(3:27 mark below)

The 2010 title marked the fifth and final championship of Bryant’s career. Meanwhile, the 2010 finals marked Garnett’s second and last finals appearance. He finished his career with one championship.

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