Joakim Noah, Kevin Garnett: The best bigs in the league – NBA Feature (Part 2)
Joakim Noah:
The 6 ft 11 centre from Chicago Bulls is another double-double freak. Noah gained the limelight in the 2009-2010 season when he was pivotal in aiding his team to the playoffs. He consistently scored double-doubles throughout the
playoffs and finished them with an average of 14.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
Noah had to miss the first part of 2010-2011 season due to ligament damage that took more than 10 weeks to heal. He was averaging 14 points and 11.7 rebounds in 24 games prior to injury and after making his comeback; he was instrumental
in giving Bulls, the much needed depth on the back court. Injuries have let down flaps on Noah but when fully fit, he is a monster on the glass
Kevin Garnett:
There is no accolade in NBA that Kevin has not achieved in his sixteen years of brilliance. He was the main strength of Minnesota Timberwolves for the first twelve years of his career and in that period gave everything he had to
take his team to new heights.
Garnett did not immediately jump to stardom like LeBron James or Dwight Howard. In his rookie year he averaged a respectable 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Timberwolves at that time had a talented core but
were devoid of game turners. Garnett filled that void.
The very next season, Kevin started to show the star in him and when he finished the season with an average of 17 points and 8 rebounds, he was immediately offered an enormous $126 million extension contract of 6 years.
He continued his excellent run averaging around 20 points every season. In the 2003-04 season, he was awarded MVP for the first time after he led his team to Western Conference finals. From 2002 to 2007, Garnett saw his peak. Not
only would he score points, but also achieved perfection in rebounding too. During that time, he looked unstoppable. In 2007, he was traded to Boston Celtics and immediately made an impact by helping his team in winning the championship for record 17thtime.
Garnett is now 35 and probably not as classy as he used to be but still one of the best players in NBA currently. He has been included in All-NBA first defensive team for a record nine teams. The C’s power forward is definite hall
of famer and whenever he hangs his boots, he will go down as one of the dominant forces in NBA history.
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