Kevin Garnett blasts international stars ahead of the All-Star Game: “I can’t stand it”

The NBA All-Star Game will debut a new format in 2026, finally delivering a concept fans have debated for years: Team USA vs. the Rest of the World. The game will be played at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

It will mark the fourth format in All-Star Game history, following the traditional East vs. West matchup, the draft-style teams led by star captains, and the recent Final Four-style experiment.

A new attempt to revive the All-Star Game

The league is once again trying to inject energy into an event that has steadily lost its competitive edge. This time, the NBA is leaning into one of basketball’s most persistent talking points: the historic dominance of American players versus the growing influence of international stars, particularly from Europe.

That debate has gained traction not only among fans, but also among analysts and former players. Few voices carry more weight on the subject than Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, two Boston Celtics legends who tackled the issue head-on during a recent episode of their podcast, “Ticket & The Truth,” named after their longtime NBA nicknames.

Pierce points to MVPs and player development

Pierce argued that international players currently hold the upper hand, citing differences in youth development systems and one hard fact that is difficult to ignore. The last seven NBA MVP awards have gone to players born outside the United States.

Five of those trophies belong to two Europeans: Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won twice, and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, who has claimed the award three times. The last American to win MVP was James Harden in 2018.

Garnett fires back

Garnett was unconvinced. The Hall of Famer insisted that American players would overwhelm any international lineup on both ends of the floor.

“International guys have brought a bunch of flopping into the NBA, and I can’t fucking stand it,” Garnett said. “They’re running up and down, they’re saying something to the ref. We weren’t doing that shit before all that. I get it, it’s been some greatness, and it’s been some weirdness that we’ve taken from them.”

Garnett also pushed back on the idea that international development automatically produces better players.

“I hate this whole narrative about how international players start younger,” he said. “So what? They’re not putting out a better product. That’s what I’m saying. Just because you come from Lithuania or wherever doesn’t make you [good].”

Calling out Doncic and the two-way game

Garnett then turned his attention to one of the league’s biggest stars.

“Ask Luka Doncic to play both ends. Ask him to come down, shoot a three, then guard 94 feet. As much as he makes, he gives up the same way. So he’s giving and taking.”

He closed with his most forceful claim yet.

“If you line any of those motherfuckers up for one-on-one, half of them can’t guard. There’s two sides to the ball. Yeah, they’ve got MVPs, they pass more, Jokic is the exception. Luka started young. You line them motherfuckers up, Americans gonna destroy any motherfucker you line up.”

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