Nick Kyrgios sparks furious argument between two NBA icons
Nick Kyrgios stirred the pot to spark an argument between NBA legends Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Nick Kyrgios was responsible for inadvertently starting a furious argument between two NBA legends as they watched the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers clinched the inaugural NBA Cup by earning a hard-fought victory, with Anthony Davis shooting 41 points on their way to a 123-109 scoreline.
Kyrgios, who is a huge fan of basketball, was watching the game alongside NBA icons Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on American network Showtime. The Aussie was responsible for sparking a heated debate at the end of the second quarter as the trio discussed where LeBron James stands on the list of all-time greats.
The debate began when Kyrgios asked: “Is he top five in the league still, LeBron?” Pierce replied by expressing his view that James is no longer a top-five player, which infuriated Garnett as he tore into his former Boston Celtics team-mate.
“Name five other players better than Bronny right now,” he demanded. Pierce responded by naming Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid before Garnett cut him off, hitting back: “Stop, get your a** out of here. I saw Joel Embiid have 15 points in the final game.
Get your garbage a** outta here. F*** is you talking about, bum? You act like you don’t even know basketball. You’re talking like a cupcake, you’re talking that goofy s***. Respect [James], he’s 38 and still doing it. What are you talking about? You’re a cupcake when it comes to LeBron.”
Kyrgios simply watched on with a smile as Pierce and Garnett engaged in their fierce war of words, which took place at the halfway point of the Lakers’ victory over the Pacers. The tennis star has made no secret of his love for basketball over the years and has often been spotted wearing Celtics merchandise to show his support for the team. He revealed back in 2015 that he prefers basketball to tennis but was pushed by his parents to play the latter sport during his teenage years, telling The Independent: “I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much. I don’t love it. It was crazy when I was 14, I was all for basketball and I made the decision to play tennis.
“I got pushed by my parents and to this day I can still say I don’t love the sport. It’s good when you’re out there on a tennis court. There’s nowhere to hide. It’s all you, tactically, physically, mentally, but I just love basketball, I love the sport. I always have.
“I try when I’m on the road with tennis not to watch too many basketball videos and stuff like that, to keep me focused. Every time when I’m playing now I still think I can [switch to basketball] for some odd reason, even though I’m playing a completely different sport
