When it comes to big men, the talk of the town in Sacramento is rookie center Marvin Bagley III, the second overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft. The attention Bagley is garnering is taking away plenty of focus from another young Kings frontcourt piece in Harry Giles.
It’s easy to forget who Giles is. After an injury-riddled year for the Duke Blue Devils in 2016-17, he declared for the 2017 NBA Draft, where he was taken by the Portland Trail Blazers 20th overall before shipping him to Sacramento along with Justin Jackson in exchange for Zach Collins.
Harry Giles, however, was not able to play at all in the 2017-18 season because of knee issues, thus becoming an afterthought in Sacramento.
This coming season, which would amount to be Giles’ rookie campaign in the pros, the 20-year-old power forward is looking to make loud noises on the court in both the literal and figurative sense, telling Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that his excitement and actions on the court has him drawing comparisons to former NBA superstar Kevin Garnett.
“I love KG's game,” Giles said. “… It's crazy how I'm not out there trying to act like him; I'm just really being me. But it's crazy I end up being like him in a way.”
A high school coach called Giles “Big Ticket,” which is Garnett's nickname, and Giles embraced it.
Kevin Garnett is not a bad player for Harry Giles to model his attitude and game after, whether it’s deliberate or not. After all, the Big Ticket is a future Hall of Famer, a former league MVP, an NBA champion, and was a 15-time All-Star during his playing days.
Giles has a long way to go before reaching the same level of Garnett, but playing with fierceness akin to Garnett’s is a great start for the Kings’ youngster.
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