In the initial moments of Kevin Garnett: Anything Is Possible, Allen Iverson is talking about being at the Nike Elite Camp with Garnett. Iverson says “I think I heard him before I ever saw him.”
That’s an early indication that you’re going to hear from Garnett throughout this documentary. And you do. A lot.
And you know what? It’s almost all gold.
Biographical documentaries have a tendency to lose the viewer at times. Instead, this is one you can get lost in. The story takes you from Garnett’s humble beginnings in South Carolina to reaching the mountaintop by winning the 2008 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics.
Interspersed throughout are stories from coaches, players, executives and celebrities about Garnett. Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce is present throughout, as he recounts meeting Garnett when both were teenagers. In a fun bit of foreshadowing, Pierce tells the story of how Garnett came from South Carolina to Los Angeles to join Pierce’s AAU team. Adding Garnett helped lift Pierce’s squad to a tournament championship past a team they couldn’t previously beat. Sounds like a familiar story.
Garnett tells the story of leaving South Carolina after an arrest for lynching. He landed in Chicago, where he ultimately found himself talking trash to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as a high schooler in a pickup game that Isiah Thomas watched on from the sidelines.
From there, Garnett’s struggle to get his grades up for college led directly to him making a jump to the NBA. This is where Garnett’s legendary passion and intensity shine through. Over 25 years later, Garnett’s voice rises several octaves as he tells the story of his pre-draft workouts.
Then it’s on to the Minnesota Timberwolves years. You can feel his pain as Garnett relives not being able to get out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. He also hilariously tells a story about how he came from nothing, but found himself with millions of dollars for the first time.
“I didn’t believe in banks,” Garnett said. “I had $2-to-3 million under my mattress. (laughs) Then I learned about direct deposit.”
Sam Cassell, in another bit of foreshadowing, talks about how close the Timberwolves came to winning an NBA championship. Cassell says about Garnett ““He does whatever it takes to win a basketball game. He’s a motherf*cker (laughs).”
We then hear of the profound impact Malik Sealy, and his untimely death, had on Garnett. That tragic loss helped Garnett decide he should be open to leaving Minnesota.
Towards the end of the documentary, we hear from countless Celtics teammates, coaches and broadcasters about Garnett’s time in Boston.
Rajon Rondo, who was entering his second year in the NBA, knew Garnett was good. But when Boston traded for the big man, Rondo realized just how good Garnett must be.
“We traded like seven guys for Kevin,” Rondo said. “That’s when I realized how good he was. We traded like our entire team for him.”
Danny Ainge smiled when remembering Garnett’s immediate impact “KG transformed us…He gave everyone in the franchise, and in the city, that hope that had been missing for a long time.”
From his courtside seat, legendary Celtics broadcaster Mike Gorman saw Garnett’s intensity up close every single game.
“KG turned TD Garden into The Coliseum. And he was Maximus,” Gorman said.
Garnett and former Boston players Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Brian Scalabrine then tell a story about arm wrestling that cannot be missed.
Celtics fans will love reliving the 2008 NBA Finals and the triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s hard to not get goosebumps when Garnett remembers Doc Rivers speech before Game 6.
Rivers told his team “This is our last game this season. We’re not just gonna win, we’re gonna win big.”
Throughout the nearly two hours, you’ll get a sense of Kevin Garnett and what drove him. From him hiding his spot on the high school basketball team to just how close he came to going to the Lakers instead of the Celtics, it’s a fun ride full some favorite anecdotes and plenty of never-before-heard stories
Everyone knows Garnett is one of the most intense players to ever take an NBA court. As he relives his basketball life, that intensity has barely waned. Multiple times, Garnett’s voice gets soft as he builds to a crescendo, punctuating with him yelling into the microphone about moments and games that are long-since-passed.
If you’re a KG fan, Celtics fan, Timberwolves fan, basketball fan, or simply a fan of interesting people, Kevin Garnett: Anything Is Possible is not to be missed.
Showtime will air Kevin Garnett: Anything is Possible on Friday, November 12 at 8:00 PM ET.
