Kevin Garnett Did NOT Approve Of How Emotional Wemby Got After Making The Finals

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

If there was one lasting image from the Spurs epic Game 7 win to dethrone the defending Champs on their own floor, it was Wemby crying his eyes out and letting emotion take over while celebrating with his teammates. It was refreshing to see and in my opinion was a nice reminder that it's actually pretty cool to give a shit. That's right, caring is cool! 

Was it a little over the top? Maybe, but completely understandable in my opinion. Given what Wemby and the Spurs had just pulled off? I think his reaction was perfectly warranted. Wemby clearly hates the Thunder, and to take down the Champs like that was big time stuff. I think it's only fair to allow a guy in that spot to maybe get a little emotional.

Then again, I'm not Kevin Garnett. The way he sees it, Wemby's reaction was not acceptable

See, this is how I would expect KG to react because this is how his brain is wired. I disagree that you can't have Wemby's reaction and still not be focused on winning and the challenge of the Finals etc. Both things can coexist. And I also agree with KG when he says the WCF isn't shit, and it's all about the Finals. That's one of the things I'm interested in seeing tomorrow night when it comes to this matchup. Sometimes you can have an emotional letdown after overcoming such a hurdle in the previous round in a Game 1. Perhaps this being the Finals and the Spurs playing at home will prevent that from happening, but it's still something that's TBD as of now.

Watching that clip made me curious how KG himself reacted the two times he punched his ticket to the NBA Finals, and I have to be honest I had to go into the depths of the internet to find the Pistons/Celts Game 6 way back in 2008. Hopefully this works

After the final buzzer, KG didn't really react. He was pretty stone cold face, and even decided to go forehead to forehead with Richard Hamilton which I didn't really remember but loved

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and is also very on brand for 2008 Kevin Garnett. 

Then there was Game 6 against the Magic in 2010, this time being played at the Garden 

but it was a little tough to find footage of what took place after the final buzzer. Fortunately we have some Getty shots, and by the looks of things, it does not appear that KG is crying his eyes out about making it back to the Finals. 

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

So at the very least, it's not like KG is saying anything different than how he acted when he found himself in a similar spot. I just don't really agree that there's anything wrong with Wemby's reaction. Let's not forget, Wemby talked about this very thing way back in April

“Wemby’s too emotional.” “Wemby should stop crying.” “Wemby’s gay.” 

Can we stop with the tired old clichés that treat emotions as a weakness, either in sports or in life in general? 

I asked Wemby about why that is. 

Here’s his response: “That’s a tough question. I think it’s first and foremost a fear of judgment. Like this feeling that you have to act a certain way, social codes, I guess. Personally, I refuse to carry the burden of having to hide my emotions.”

so in many ways, his reaction wasn't surprising either. 

Do I think we need to crown Wemby the savior of sports because he gives a shit? No. All the stuff I've seen about that is a little much for my liking. Plenty of players at the highest level give a shit. It was just cool to see that open and raw emotion. But as KG was eluding too, the job's not done. These last 4 wins are the hardest to get, and the closer you get to that 16th win, things get even tougher. 

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I can't wait to see how it shakes out. Just get us to tip-off already.