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Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Garnett made an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' this week to promote his new book, 'KG: A-Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball and Everything in Between.' In the book, Garnett reveals his surprise fandom for saxophonist Kenny G, who he described as a "snake charmer" credited for calming him down before games. “Listening to his soprano sax, I’d sit there and close my eyes and see my thoughts,” Garnett wrote in his book via Men's Health. “Kenny G got me to a different place, a new realm of relaxation.”
During Garnett's appearance, Kimmel called the former NBA MVP's love of Kenny G's music "maybe the most surprising" details from the book and asked the former basketball star if he had ever met the musician, which Garnett said he had not. That is, until Kimmel introduced "Kev-y G" to Kenny G virtually during the interview, much to the former NBA champion's delight. “Oh s***!” Garnett yelled before putting his hands on his head and mouth in excitement. The two exchanged pleasantries before Kenny G thanked Garnett for the kind words mentioned in his new autobiography. “Kenny G, your music got me through so many tough times in my life, man,” Garnett said. “It inspired me, it helped me.”
At a Lakers home game in early November, where LeBron James is bopping through the crowd of reporters in the locker room, it’s “Out Tha Mud” by three-category nominee Roddy Ricch that’s booming for all to hear. At a mid-December game in Toronto, where former Raptors star Kawhi Leonard is in town for the first time with his Clippers, coach Nick Nurse is using the speaker inside his office near the locker room to go all the way back to 1972 with “Rocket Man” by Elton John (Grammy Legend award winner, 2001). But if you’re lucky enough to sneak into one of Donovan Mitchell’s off-day workouts, those creative sessions where the Utah guard works on his craft with assistant coach Johnnie Bryant, you’ll probably hear… Kenny G? Yes, Kenny G, the 16-time Grammy nominee and one-time winner whose dulcet saxophone tunes don’t typically make their way into the hoops space.
Mitchell, who is averaging career highs in scoring (24.7 points), rebounds (4.2) and assists (4.3) for the Jazz basketball band that is 31-13 and second in the West, loved what he was hearing. “It just opened my eyes,” Mitchell said. “There are times when (the game) does call for you to be hyped up, but there are also a lot of times when it calls for you to slow down and just relax. The first jazz artist on their playlist who came to mind? “It’s cliché’, but Kenny G,” he said. “It’s really helped me.”
For five years, Kevin Love has spent his holiday season trying to help the less fortunate citizens of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area by collecting and donating winter coats. It's an important issue is in his professional home, where temperatures can dip below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Apart from rooting for global warming, this bit of charity is one of the better options available. Love's a smart guy and realizes that simply holding a coat drive isn't enough. So, in order to bring some attention, he records funny videos in which he and his Minnesota Timberwolves teammates act like goofballs. Two years ago, they posed like actors in an early '90s ad for a knockoff fur outlet. This year, Love decided to get his Kenny G on by playing the saxophone while Wolves like Jose Juan Barea and Derrick Williams blow kisses to the vaseline-smeared camera. Oh, and Love wears a totally ridiculous wig and trenchcoat. I guess costumes are his thing now.
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