On a nightly basis, Kevin Garnett talked trash and mowed down rivals. Even though he never stepped into a WWE ring, his skills would have translated perfectly to the squared circle. While KG was putting everyone on notice in the NBA, Brock Lesnar also had the state of Minnesota in a chokehold with his amateur wrestling skills, and together, the two men made Minneapolis the centre of the sports world.

Lesnar recently appeared on Barstool Sports’ Spittin’ Chiclets and recalled the massive popularity he had gained, which coincided with the early Kevin Garnett domination in the NBA.

“So when I won my NCAA title, the WWE approached me because I lived in Minneapolis. I had a big media following there. Back when I was in college, I was the big man on campus. It was me and Kevin Garnett running Minneapolis. Yeah, like they turned me into this unbeatable monster, and I was doing all the radio stuff back then and going down and getting free steaks whenever I wanted, and everywhere I went there was a pat on the back. So it was cool.”

That “unbeatable monster” persona didn’t come out of nowhere. Lesnar built it the hard way, starting at Bismarck State College, where he finished fifth in his first year before winning the National Junior College Athletic Association title in the 275-pound category in his second.

A wrestling scholarship then brought him to the University of Minnesota, where he turned that junior college momentum into a runner-up finish and ultimately the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Championship — capping a college career with a 106–5 overall record.

By the time WWE came knocking, Lesnar hadn’t just won a title; he had spent four years forging the kind of dominant reputation that made the “monster” framing feel inevitable.

While Lesnar was dismantling the collegiate scene, Kevin Garnett had skipped college entirely and gone straight to the NBA. The Timberwolves showed faith in the high school graduate, picking him fifth overall in the draft.

By the time Lesnar arrived in Minneapolis, KG had already signed a six-year, $126 million contract and racked up multiple All-Star selections, making him a national superstar while Lesnar was still the city’s local folk hero.

Garnett also led the Wolves to their first winning record in franchise history. Naturally, even without social media, the papers and local media covered both stories obsessively, KG’s rising star power on one page, Lesnar’s dominance on the other.

Even though Garnett never stepped across WWE, unlike Dennis Rodman, who recently earned an induction into the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame Class. KG was never shy about showcasing his physical strength, even with his teammates.

Kevin Garnett beat a nearly 300-pound teammate

KG’s competitive streak extended way beyond the court. During the 2007–08 Celtics season, it reached 30,000 feet in the air. Teammate Glen “Big Baby” Davis easily defeated all of his Celtics teammates in an arm wrestling contest. The only person left was Kevin Garnett.

Naturally, everyone gathered around. Doc Rivers hadn’t even noticed the contest was underway until Rajon Rondo came to alert him, worried someone might get hurt. “I thought someone was going to get hurt,” Rivers recalled. “‘Big Baby’ outweighs Kevin by a significant margin — it was the most amazing display of willpower and mind power. Kevin made Baby give in. Kevin was just staring at him, saying, ‘I’m not moving. You’re not going to move me.’ Then bam, Kevin won.”

According to Paul Pierce — the only teammate who put his money on Garnett — the contest felt deadlocked for what seemed like an eternity before KG finally wore his opponent down and slammed him. It became yet another chapter in the legend of his willpower and physical dominance.