A recent comment noted one of the first columns (and still one of the most popular) posted at The Wages of Wins Journal.
The Tragedy of Kevin Garnett briefly details how Garnett – when he was in Minnesota – was often the M2P (Most Productive Player) in the league. Unfortunately, his teammates were often quite unproductive. Consequently, few people recognized that KG was the best player in the game. Here is how that column concluded:
And that is the tragedy of Kevin Garnett. Year after year he is the most productive player in the league. And year after year he plays with many players who are not only not average, but quite a bit below average.
I should note that KG’s Wins Production has declined each of the past four seasons. He still leads the league, but the difference between him and everyone else gets smaller each year. Soon Father Time will take its toll and KG will no longer dominate the NBA. Hopefully before that happens, he finds a few co-workers who can help him achieve the recognition his performance indicates he clearly deserves.
Apparently KG was able to find adequate co-workers in Boston. And now that the Celtics – with KG – have won the NBA title, the tragedy is over. Of course the same can also be said for The Tragedy of Paul Pierce.
Speaking of older columns, I think it is time to revisit the following: Kobe Myths
In this column I compared Kobe’s regular season performance to the performances of both Paul Pierce and Michael Jordan. My next column will focus on the playoffs and reveal that “The Truth” is at least as strong as “Black Mamba” in the NBA’s second season.
– DJ
Wages of Wins Journal 
Portena
June 22, 2008
Now, when will the tragedy of Andris Biedrins end?
stephanie
June 22, 2008
You know what’s a tragedy? Comparing KG to Duncan. And I like KG.
ilikeflowers
June 22, 2008
17 head to heads since 2002 – from just eyeballing the points, rebounds, assists and blocks it looks like:
3 Garnett dominations
5 Garnett better
6 washes
1 Duncan better
2 Duncan dominations
If you adjust for diminishing returns since Duncan has had better teammates (except for this year) it looks like a wash or maybe a slight edge for Garnett.
stephanie
June 23, 2008
Put a rookie, raw KG right out of high school in San Antonio and no one knows what sort of player he develops into. We all know how savvy the SA organization is and how bad the Minny organization is…maybe they develop KG into the post up player they need.
But you couldn’t swap KG and TD as they turned out in our world. San Antonio’s offense relies on Duncan being on the block all the time and waiting for the double team/kickout. KG’s game is…quite different, to say the least.
ilikeflowers
June 23, 2008
What’s that have to do with a comparison of KG and Duncan being a tragedy?
mrparker
June 23, 2008
Neither Garnett nor Duncan are dominant because of what they provide on the offensive end. They are both dominant because of what they bring to the defensive end.
As far as offensive prowess goes: Garnett has a career offensive rating of 111 while Duncan has a career offensive rating of 109.
Garnett’s career numbers. .494% 20pts 11reb 4ast
Duncan’s career numbers .508% 21pts 11reb 3ast
All the talk about Duncan being the key to offense seems a little less factual than the argument is usually presented as.
Garnett has had 3 seasons of offensive ratings above 115. Duncan’s career high is 114.
In short Duncan has never been the superior offensive player, although an argument could be made that Duncan has been the superior defensive player in some seasons.
stephanie
June 23, 2008
I agree TD and KG’s defensive anchoring abilities are pretty comparable.
The real tragedy of KG is that he has great post moves but he doesn’t use them nearly enough. He’ll tease you three or four times a game and do something amazing on the block. He has nice footwork and a poor man’s dream shake. But the rest of the game he’ll be hoisting up 15-20 foot jumpshots.
Meanwhile, Tim Duncan is on the block all the time. I shouldn’t need to explain why a big man posting up who commands a double team is a valuable asset on the offensive end to his team. That’s why a coach would pick Duncan over KG every time.
ilikeflowers
June 23, 2008
I agree that it would be nice to see KG plant himself in the paint more frequently. But given his career at this point, it’s hardly a tragedy.
Vince Gagliano
June 23, 2008
Yeah, everyone talks about Duncan being very fundamentally sound because he spent four years at Wake Forest and such.
Rings aside, though, I feel that Duncan can make a case for being better because he can play power forward and center very well.
However, KG defended every position on the court for the Celtics this year. Who knows how many rings he might have won had he joined a good Eastern Conference team?
Instead he got stuck in the West, where MJ and Co. dominated from 1996-1998, Shaq and Duncan reached the Finals every year from 1999-2005, and the latter got a fourth ring in 2007 just for good measure.
Vince Gagliano
June 23, 2008
The Bulls are in the East. My bad.
ilikeflowers
June 23, 2008
Here’s a scary rumor…Shawn Marion for Lamar Odom.
ilikeflowers
June 23, 2008
Maybe Riley’s feeling bad about sending Posey to Boston and wants to do a make up trade with LA?
Tyson
June 23, 2008
Great article about KG. Funny how in Minnesota, he couldn’t win the big one according to sportswriters and now that he has a good supporting cast, he’s the champion. Same goes for Pierce (although Allen deserved the Finals MVP).
portena
June 23, 2008
Carlos Boozer is as productive as KG and Duncan.
NickP
June 23, 2008
portena: Boozer plays no D.
BloggerDude
October 8, 2009
I don’t know If I said it already but …This blog rocks! I gotta say, that I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks, :)
A definite great read….