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Boston Celtics legends Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett earned boatloads of cash over their respective NBA careers. However, their success was earned, not given, as before their rise to prominence, they had to work hard to afford their basketball shoes.
On “KG Certified,” the two legends reflected on how they obtained their first pairs of Nike Air Jordan sneakers in the late 80s and early 90s.
According to Pierce, he saved up $100 to buy a pair of Air Jordan 4s, which debuted during the 1989 NBA All-Star Game in Houston.
“The 4s. It was the 4s for me,” Pierce said. “That was the first pair of Jordans I got when I was in sixth grade … I saved up $100 for them joints.”
As for Garnett, his first pair of Jordans were Air Jordan 6s, which released in 1991. According to the former MVP, he worked at Burger King to save up for the sneakers.
“My first pair of Jordans were the ones he won, when you had to put your fingers in the infrareds, the 6s,” Garnett said. “I worked at Burger King for like two months, blew my whole check on them s**ts.”
Garnett added that his mother wasn’t a fan of him blowing two months' worth of salary on shoes. However, he didn’t see a problem with spending his hard-earned cash how he saw fit.
“I made my mama mad as a motherf**ker,” Garnett said. “I didn’t wanna hear s**t. Like, ‘Yo, I just spent my money on this s**t! Everybody can kiss my a**! I don’t wanna hear s**t!’”
(0:16-0:45 mark below)
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett reflect on how meticulously they took care of their first Jordans
After discussing saving up for their first Air Jordans, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce touched on how meticulously they took care of their shoes.
According to the legends, wearing Jordans in the 90s was a status symbol. So, they did everything they could to keep their sneakers looking as pristine as possible.
Pierce highlighted how he regularly scrubbed his Jordans with a toothbrush.
“I used to take care of them boys, man. Toothbrush, water,” Pierce said. “You cleaned your shoes with an old toothbrush.”
However, according to Garnett, he took his maintenance to another level.
“I used to have a whole kit,” Garnett said. “I had baking soda because I heard baking soda and peroxide used to bubble up, right? To get the little dirt joints you can’t get. Lemon juice, too.
“Me and my homeboy used to put the grey tape on. You would just cover it, clean right here, take the grey tape off, and it would be spotless.”
(0:51-1:20 mark below)
Fortunately for the Hall of Famers, they went on to experience immense NBA success. Thus, the time and money that they invested in their Jordans was ultimately worthwhile.
Kevin Garnett earned a whopping $343,862,398 over 21 seasons. He retired as an NBA champion, MVP, 15-time All-Star and nine-time All-NBA team member, among other accolades.
Paul Pierce, on the other hand, earned a massive $200,708,312 over 19 seasons. He finished his career as an NBA champion, 10-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA team member.
So, it appears safe to say that neither legend should have any issues affording basketball shoes ever again.
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