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Kevin "Big Ticket" Garnett is probably what most General Managers of tanking teams look for when they scout upcoming drafts for raw talent. An MVP award, a DPOY award and one single NBA championship with Boston in 2008 combined with 15 All-Star appearances stand as testimony to his legend.
Listed at 6'11, Garnett was not a model center or power forward in the NBA when he was drafted. One of the few rookies to be drafted out of high school, Garnett had skills and ball handling moves that few of his size had ever had.
The Timberwolves, who lucked into drafting at fifth overall in 1995, rarely put him in positions to succeed; most of his Wolves career consisted of his dragging his underdog teams to the playoffs - with one Western Conference Finals in 2004 to show for it all. In his first stint with the Wolves, the best teammate he had was Stephon Marbury, who was his teammate for two seasons before there was a clash of egos between the duo.
At 6'11, but skinny and tall, Garnett could space the floor in a way few NBA big men at that time ever could. That is because most big men back then didn't have a great jumper or shot outside the paint. Imagine if, during last season's playoffs, Steven Adams had a respectable shot outside the paint against the Jazz. Gobert would have been dragged outside the paint, leaving Westbrook and George with open lanes to the rim.
Most of the Wolves' management time was spent wondering how Garnett could body up other big men in the post, when in reality they should have used him to lure his man away from the rim.
Nowadays, every single unicorn seven footers is labeled a Garnett or a Dirk. Unique big men who could shoot threes and were comfortable away from the rim, they laid the prototype for today's modern positions.
Case in point: DeAndre Ayton, this year's draft's first overall pick, does not shoot threes, or even long twos. This often allows teams to double team Devin Booker off the dribble, as they have a predictable notion of where Ayton will be - stationed under the post. Compare this to Jaren Jackson Jr (34.1% 3PT), who is used by Memphis to space the floor effectively, and the difference immediately becomes clear.
Kevin Durant
Durant is the best of the Garnett mold, except he's uniquely gifted on the offensive end as well. Also listed by the NBA at 6'9 (much taller in reality, though), Durant has a beautifully honed soft touch to his jumper that few men of his height do. Much of this has to do with his build, because a lot of players simply cannot defend a player who can shoot above their heads at will and make a high percentage of those shots.
Like Garnett, Durant can beat his man off the dribble, where the defender has to deal with the dreaded "pull up jumper" possibility of Durant suddenly stopping dead in his tracks and pulling up from anywhere on the court. Durant is averaging 28.6ppg, 7.7 rpg and 6.2 apg with 50% FG and 36% 3PT shooting. Those numbers are liable to cook any defense on any given day in the league.
Durant is also becoming a defensive mastermind. Statistically, his teams have always required him to generate the offense, but given Golden State's plethora of offensive options, Durant no longer has to carry the burden of the team on that end.
Instead, Kerr has used Durant more as a rim-protecting big, where the departures of Zaza, McGee and the inadequacies of rookie Jordan Bell have been exposed. With Draymond out for multiple games this season, Durant has often been the anchor of the defense, and last season he posted a career high of 1.8 blocks per game.
In the 2018 finals, Steph Curry spent multiple possessions guarding LeBron at the top of the key, but James was noticeably hesitating to blow past him for thunderous dunks. The reason for that is excepting Curry, everyone on the roster was capable of catching up to him, and Durant spent that time near the baseline where he could be close enough to help out on defensive assignments.
Modern-day forwards
The NBA today is all about spacing. Spacing the floor and shooting go hand in hand.
Giannis Antetoukounmpo, another Garnett type player, is surrounded by shooters and flourishes in the system. LeBron has historically succeeded in situations where he's been the man who drives and either dunks or kicks the ball out to shooters placed to space the floor for him. Put Durant in that situation in Golden State and he's succeeded wildly as well.
Westbrook's OKC situation is frustrating because of this selfsame reason. For all his magic, Sam Presti has never been able to surround Westbrook with the 3 point shooting that his slash and drive game requires. We haven't ever seen Westbrook in a system designed for his game.
And the Timberwolves didn't get to see a thriving Garnett, either. In Boston, he was unleashed as the centerpiece of whatever the Celtics did, with Rondo's bewitching passing, a prime Ray Allen and career 37% 3PT shooting Paul Pierce spacing the floor.
Lauri Markannen, Kristaps Porzingis and Garnett's own protege Karl Anthony Towns are all a mold of the big man who showed up in a league too slow to adapt to his skills.
