Miranda Kerr the Australian model once said, “My ambition comes from my passion: finding what I love and then expanding on that.” Donavon Bailey the Jamaican-Canadian Olympic 100 meter sprinter gave it to us like this, “Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” Maya Angelou put it where the goats could get it when she spit, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Well playas…Kevin Garnett the now Hall of Famer played the game with passion, humor and style but more passion than anything. I know boyz will act like they don’t believe it but KG was my favorite player of All-Time. Not because of his game or the team that he played for. It was simply because of his passion for the game and his passion for his team. KG has been the only player in the league that played with a child’s enthusiasm EVERY night. I don’t care if it was the first game of the season, a Wednesday night in January or the freakin’ NBA Finals, he was going to leave it all on the court.
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! There were so many guys in the league that dogged it until the playoffs started like Shaq, Barkley, Malone, Iverson etc., just to name a few. How many times did you hear of guys not even playing on any given night? Remember when Shaq was in the league and he would wait until the day before the season would start to have surgery and miss like the first 30 games? He’d chill all summer then decide that he needed to get cut so he didn’t have to play the entire 82 game schedule. Before I started covering the NBA I got burned so many times trying to see cats play that just decided they weren’t playing on any given night and wouldn’t even make the trip. I can remember Iverson getting me on several occasions because my wife was a huge A.I. fan and she never got to see him play because he was chillin’.
For more than 20 years KG was my favorite player not because he’s one of the best power forwards to ever play the game. Not because he was a 15-time All-Star. Not because he made the NBA All-Defensive team 9 times, won the league MVP in ‘04 or won an NBA Championship in ’08. Naw playa, KG was my favorite player because of one reason. His passion.
Very few people get up and go to work with that type of passion. It’s the kind of drive that separates the good from the great. It determines whether a boy was simply in the ride or drove it. Most people don’t understand that DNA will only get you so far.
Let me put it where the goats can it. DNA will get you into the party but you still gotta put it work if you’re going to get anywhere with that Bad-Bad standing at the bar. Keep in mind that every cat in the joint is eyein’ her too. Why? Because she’s bad! Now what? It works the same way in life and in the NBA.
KG showed boyz how to effectively go to work every day. Oh yeah, did I mention that he was the highest paid NBA player of All-Time? He’s made more bread than any player in the history of the game in NBA salary. He made a staggering $334 million! That’s not endorsements bruh! That’s salary alone!
Maybe these young boyz can learn a thing or two from an O.G. like KG. Handle your business first and the bread will come. Salute to the big homie Kevin Garnett for holdin’ it down like a real playa should during his career. Like him or not he was bringin’ his lunch to work EVERY night and I’ve got tall respect for him for that! Congrats on making the Hall of Fame!! Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Real G: adjective – like a gangsta, to be really confident in what you’re doin’ or sayin’
2) G Move: verb – to make a statement in the streets, to solidify a reputation with all of the homies, to take his street credibility to another level
3) Pimpin’: noun – the person that I’m passionately tryin’ to get me point across to.
4) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc.
5) Let me put it where the goats can it: To break it down to its simplest form, to put it on the ground for you so that you can eat it. Goats eat off of the ground bruh.
6) Bad-Bad: noun – a fine woman, cosmetic 10, show stoppa, head turner, look at her type, etc.
7) O.G.: noun – short for original gangsta which means old head, old playa, cats with time on their side that knows the game of life.
