"Some of them Labradoodles": Paul Pierce refuses to accept Kevin Garnett's 'dog' labels for LeBron James & others
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had one of biggest rivalries with LeBron James in NBA history. The media narrative went to the extent that Pierce and Garnett were dubbed as LeBron haters. However, both Pierce and KG haven’t shied away from giving LeBron his respect.
In a recent episode of “KG Certified,” Pierce asked his former teammate to name the top five toughest players in the league. When Garnett said that the list was big, Pierce denied it, implying that there are only a few players in the league with a “dog on they shirt.”
When Garnett started naming, Pierce was fine with Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler. However, when Garnett took LeBron and Anthony Davis’ names, Pierce stopped buying into Garnett’s list. KG further added Kawhi Leonard, Jaylen Brown, Jaylen Brunson and Julius Randle’s names to the list, but Paul Pierce didn't agree to any of it.
“They nice. You saying some nice guys…I mean some of them Labradoodles…they ain’r no pits…name some Pitbulls.”
Garnett also doubled down on Pierce with his list:
“Randle will bone your a**, Brunson will bone your a** right now. Jaylen Brown will bone you n***. He will flush you. He will dink you mo*********** a**. Tatum will put you in mix n***...these are dogs!”
It is clear that Pierce meant a different level of toughness when he wanted Garnett to give the list. However, to disagree about LeBron being one of the toughest players in the league is a stretch. James has one of the greatest resumes in NBA history, both in terms of personal achievements and dealing with obstacles.
Even at this age, LeBron James has kept his status as one of the best players in the league. Despite being 39 years old, he is regular in the games and rotation. His mental toughness has been one of the biggest factors in his success in the league.
Paul Pierce doesn’t believe LeBron James is a top five player in NBA
Paul Pierce doesn’t believe LeBron James is one of the top five players in the league right now. However, his co-host of KG Certified, Kevin Garnett vehemently disagreed with Pierce and said that there are not five players in the league who are better than James, even at this age.
On a recent podcast, Pierce and Garnett were joined by Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios. A big basketball enthusiast himself, Kyrgios posed the question if LeBron still was one of the top five players in the league. While KG agreed, Pierce was seen nodding his head in disagreement.
“Bron ain’t top five in the league? Name five other players better than Bron right now that you are picking,” Garnett asked.
Paul Pierce was quick to pick five names:
“Luka Doncic, the Joker, Embiid, Giannis and Tatum. Shut up! And please stop with his nonsense."
Garnett kept disagreeing with Paul Pierce and pointed out that Joel Embiid doesn't have a 50-point game in the NBA Finals and Luka Doncic hasn't even been to the NBA Finals. He further added that LeBron had played 66,000 minutes and scored 39,000 points, to which Pierce replied:
“Man! Get this man a LeBron jersey real quick so that he can put it on.”
While top five or 10 players are largely subjective in choice, there is no doubt that James is still among the top players in the league. The LA Lakers star is averaging 24.7 points this season on 52.0% shooting from field, including 39.2% from the 3-point line.