- [Narrator] I'll keep it a hundred with you
and admit that Carmelo Anthony's hatred
toward Kevin Garnett was intense but brief.
The crux of their feud boils down
to a single blow up in January 2013,
but the aftermath of that single incident
allowed fans and the media to keep their beef alive
for nearly a decade,
while ruining Honey Nut Cheerios
for the two in the process.
(bright orchestral string music)
Kevin Garnett helped revolutionize the draft process
when he successfully jumped to the pros
fresh out of high school,
proving that youngins can thrive in the League.
From high schoolers to one-and-done college hoopers,
franchises tried to find their version of KG.
For the Denver Nuggets,
they turned to 19 year old Carmelo Anthony.
After spending one championship season at Syracuse,
Denver drafted 'Melo third overall in 2003.
Handing the keys of the franchise
over to a teenager immediately paid off.
In his rookie season,
Anthony ended a lengthy post-season drought,
leading the Nuggets to a first round matchup
against a guy who now acted as the OG
of the NBA's new generation.
Garnett hardly spoke about his impact
on the young hoopers that followed him,
but was proud of the movement
and praised Anthony after his playoff debut.
But after 'Melo lit up the Timberwolves in game three,
KG's praise quickly turned into frustration.
In the fourth quarter with the game all but out of reach,
'Melo pretended to take a jumper from out of bounds
after a loose ball rolled to him on the bench.
An agitated Garnett walked over
and tried swiping it from him, but after failing to do so,
'Melo flipped the ball around him to the refs.
Anthony's teammate Andre Miller
hopped up to defend the rookie and shoved Garnett,
where they then all exchanged words
and had to be separated before things escalated.
After the win,
when asked if Minnesota felt any pressure,
an extremely confident Anthony joked
the T-Wolves would no longer exist if they lost a series.
Garnett's reaction wasn't as playful.
Following a testy game four,
journalists believed 'Melo versus KG
would be a Western Conference battle for years to come.
Except that never came to fruition.
After Minnesota won that series in five games,
Anthony and Garnett didn't face off in the postseason again
until years later, when they were in the East.
While experts predicted a fierce rivalry between the two,
'Melo and KG gained mutual respect for each other.
They were all-star teammates in 2007
and appeared to enjoy sharing the court together.
When they switched conferences
and met in the first round of the 2011 playoffs,
it was all love between the two.
'Melo even gave KG a congratulatory hug
after the Celtics swept the series.
But then in 2013, things got spicy.
During the fourth quarter
of a regular regular season matchup,
'Melo and KG spent the entire time going at each other.
Things popped off
with the two fighting for positioning on a rebound,
where you can clearly hear Melo
voice his annoyance with KG.
- [Carmelo] He can't box me out like that!
- [Narrator] Which, I don't know how to read lips,
but seemed to really fire up Garnett.
On the ensuing possession,
Melo channeled his inner running back
and tried driving straight through KG's chest
when he set a pick.
Then on the opposite end of the floor
after draining a three,
Anthony made it his mission to seek out Garnett.
Again, I'm not a lip reader, but I highly doubt
Melo was offering KG dinner recommendations right here.
Whenever these two shared the floor,
they wasted zero time getting after it.
Later in the fourth, Garnett tried posting up Anthony
and it turned into an obvious shoving match
that the referees let play out.
When the possession ended, the two kept jawing at each other
and the refs hit 'em both with technicals
before they had to be separated at half court.
Just look at how livid Anthony is
continuing to go at Garnett later in the game.
It didn't appear to be normal banter
and Melo reportedly told KG he'd see him after the game,
which is exactly what he did.
When the final buzzer sounded,
Anthony made two separate attempts to hunt down Garnett.
He walked off the floor through the visiting tunnel,
breaking through teammates
as he made his way to the Celtics locker room,
screaming for KG to come out.
That didn't happen, so Melo posted up by Boston's team bus
and waited for Garnett.
The man was rocking a scarf and still wanted to scrap.
Surrounded by a number of security guards,
the two didn't throw hands,
but one witness said the incident felt
like being back in the schoolyard.
KG downplayed the severity of the situation,
saying the two just got caught in the heat of the battle.
Attempting to add insight
on what could have made Melo so angry,
teammate Amar'e Stoudemire said
Garnett's trash talk on the floor seemed to cut deep.
It just wasn't typical behavior from Melo,
who didn't speak to reporters after the game.
He was usually mild mannered on the court
and had come a long way
since the questionable decisions he made
as a youngin' in the league.
Other than arguing about foul calls with refs,
Melo wasn't the type of dude to lose his cool often.
A day after the blowup with Garnett,
Anthony confirmed Stoudemire's belief
that the whole ordeal revolved
around trash talk gone too far.
Melo wouldn't reveal what KG said to him,
leaving it at there's just certain things
that men shouldn't say to another man.
He thought KG crossed the line,
but said the two talked it out
and squashed any remaining beef.
The league suspended Melo for his actions,
and while he admitted his emotions got the best of him,
he didn't think the suspension was justified.
He viewed yelling for KG outside the locker room
and posting up by the Celtics team bus
as an opportunity for the two to chop it up.
More than anything, Melo just wanted to keep it pushing.
While journalists poked for answers on what KG said,
Melo didn't owe that info to anyone,
as it could have potentially drawn out a situation
that he felt the two had already handled.
Except, unfortunately for Melo,
that wasn't exactly his call.
A day after the incident,
a report came out citing sources that alleged
Garnett told Anthony that his wife,
TV personality and actress La La Anthony
tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios.
Yeah...
So, that whole goal of wanting to put the issue behind them
quickly became impossible as the internet exploded
and several media outlets ran with the news.
I gotta say, using an actual Cheerio
as an O for that headline is a nice touch.
La La chimed in with a playful tweet,
urging people not to believe everything they hear.
But her even acknowledging the situation
added more fuel to an internet fire
that was already out of control.
As absurd as it sounds to tell someone
that their wife tastes like a bowl of cereal,
it's not that farfetched coming from KG.
The dude was a prolific instigator
who verbally abused his opponents to the point of tears.
When it came time to talk shit,
nothing seemed to be off limits for KG.
Like the time he referred to Charlie Villanueva,
who has alopecia, as a cancer patient
or wishing Tim Duncan a happy Mother's Day
knowing his mom had passed away years earlier.
So yeah, the alleged Honey Nut Cheerio incident
was more so on the tame side for Garnett.
It didn't help that both Melo and KG seem completely fine
not refuting the claim.
Almost a week after the initial report,
Anthony finally addressed the public
at an event for the launch of his signature shoe.
Melo had been in the process
of going through a 15-day fast
and jokingly said he was ready for a bowl of Cheerios.
He still refused to spill the beans on what KG said,
but again attempted to make it clear
the two had settled their differences.
When the two faced off in the rematch two weeks later,
it appeared the two truly put their beef to rest.
Post-game, Melo's mindset remained the same,
reinforcing he had no smoke with KG
and simply just wanted to move on.
Garnett agreed.
At every turn,
Melo tried shifting the focus back to basketball,
but media members wouldn't let the feud die.
When Garnett got traded
to the Brooklyn Nets the following season,
journalists pounced on the opportunity
to spin it as a new inner city rivalry.
KG's physical play impacted Melo
during the playoffs the previous year,
but despite the injury,
Anthony reportedly told close friends
he didn't have any issue with Garnett.
No matter how many times the two said they were cool,
people couldn't get past finding out the truth
behind the Cheerios line.
In 2014, La La provided some clarity.
In her book titled "The Love Playbook",
La La wrote that Garnett never said such a thing.
She was confused as to how such a ridiculous lie
turned into what seemed like a never-ending saga.
Even speaking to his wife,
Melo refrained from telling La La
exactly what was said that night,
but explained that KG treated him like a rookie.
Up till that point,
Melo believed the two had built a friendship,
or at least a relationship based on respect,
and KG overstepped the boundaries.
It wasn't until 2020,
seven years removed from the incident,
that Melo finally seemed ready to address it head on.
When discussing a range of topics with rapper Ludacris,
Melo admitted that Garnett was the best trash talker
he'd ever encountered
and was someone who made you question
some of the things he said on the court.
- Garnett was one of the, not one of, nah, he was,
he is the shit talker that...
He never got in my head and messed my game up,
but he made me think sometimes.
Like, "yo, who the fuck is he talking to?"
- [Narrator] This, of course, led Ludacris
to ask him about the Honey Nut Cheerios fiasco,
where 'Melo denied it ever happened
and blamed Boston fans for starting it.
- If we talkin' about it,
I don't know if you ever addressed it, but I'm like,
would you tell everybody that he never said nothing
about no damn Honey Nut Cheerios to the wife, bro?
- Yeah, he never, yeah, he never.
He never...
That wasn't- - Where did that come from?
Who the hell even said anything about Honey Nut Cheerios?
Somebody just made that up?
- Yeah, Boston fans!
- [Narrator] With Anthony publicly on board
calling bullshit, Garnett joined in the following year,
killing any notion that he'd ever said anything to Melo
about La La or Cheerios.
He was a Frosted Flakes type of guy anyways.
The fact that KG felt the need
to mention his cereal preference
spoke to the foolishness of this beef
and how it lingered on for so long.
While 'Melo thought the rumor originated from Boston fans
and KG had no clue of how it began,
it all stemmed from a blog post.
In the initial report,
the article simply said they confirmed the jab
with several sources who were in attendance.
No direct quotes, no named sources,
and no original reporting.
Although none of that mattered
because the rumor achieved exactly what it set out to do.
Melo's feisty reaction at the moment
and KG's harsh history of trash talk
set the perfect stage for the rumor to explode.
It left journalists and the internet ample opportunity
to obsess over the absurdity of the story,
no matter how many times the two said it was over.
Cause in reality, their beef lasted for maybe 24 hours.
While their feud was short,
this beef will be alive as long as the internet survives
and the only clear winner here is that damn bumblebee
in Honey Nut Cheerios.
(electronic organ chord rings out)
Yo, thanks for watching "Beef History".
This sure was a nutty episode, right?
(imitates cymbal crash)
No, seriously, thanks for watching
and if you want to see some more great content,
check out these episodes below.
Also, don't forget to like and subscribe
and keep on coming back.
I'm outta here.
Peace!
(bright orchestral string music)