12:42 PM ET I wanted to go last. To let everyone else write their stories on Kobe Bryant as he approached retirement and then top them all. It was an audacious gamble. But that was my pitch to him in the winter of 2016. I thought the audacity would appeal to him. He’d admire the
NBA
7:00 AM ET Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Nov. 25, 2015. Kevin Garnett will be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2020 class. WATCHING WAS WASTEFUL, he thought, counterintuitive. Kevin Garnett loathed it. He’d spit at anyone who implored him to embrace it, even