"If he would have just nudged me, I've been on the ground" - Baron Davis remembers backing Melo during his locker room standoff with KG originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Even though Baron Davis was on his last legs when he joined the New York Knicks , his enthusiasm and willingness to go the extra mile for his teammates never waned.
He showed precisely that when he stood by a fuming Carmelo Anthony as he waited for Boston Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett to emerge from their locker room following their on-court confrontation, during which the latter allegedly spoke some foul words regarding the former's wife, LaLa.
Sharing his perspective on the incident on Paul George 's podcast, the former All-Star guard said that his back was hurting so bad, but he didn't utter a single word as they waited patiently in the bowels of Madison Square Garden.
Davis revealed that his back was acting up so badly when he arrived in New York that he could barely take the floor. However, during that feisty match against the Celtics, his competitive fire got the better of him as he too wanted to get a piece of the Big Ticket.
"I just shift to another mode. It's on," Baron divulged. "You know, 'cause I was already mad at KG. From like maybe two years ago, when we did the We Believe run. We was beating them, and he was like, you know, 'And one on all these…'"
Anyone who stepped onto the court with Garnett knew the transformation he underwent when the game began. The moment the ball was tipped, he became a relentless force, unleashing a constant barrage of trash talk aimed squarely at his opponents.
"We was like, 'Whoa.' I was like, 'Hey man — hey bro, who you talking to?'" Baron recalled . "He said it again. So I was like, 'No, bro.' The ref tried to give him the ball, I grabbed the ball from the ref. I was like, 'Man, you gotta — you know, you gotta explain yourself before we keep going with the game."
Although he would later on understand what KG was all about — intimidation and ferocity — he wasn't about to let any of his shenanigans slide, especially when it involved his superstar teammate on the Knicks.
After the game concluded, Anthony immediately raced to the locker room, hurriedly dressed up, and bolted out. Seeing this, Davis skipped his entire postgame routine to accompany his teammate, whom he sensed had bad intentions in mind. They secured a spot with a clear view of the Celtics' bus and settled in to wait. The minutes stretched on, and the wait felt endless.
"We was sitting there waiting, bro. We was sitting there waiting for a long-ass time. You know what I'm saying?" Davis remembered. "So, you know, Melo talking to me. So we walking, he talking, bro — we sitting down — no s—t. We sitting on the ramp, bro. And I'm just sitting there and I'm like, 'Damn.'"
"The whole time Melo outside fuming. I'm talking about, bro, I'm talking about just like clouds of steam — just…" he added. "And they're in there showering, doing interviews. And I'm sitting there like, 'Damn, bro. Like, we done been out here for like 45 minutes. Ain't nobody came off.'"
As Baron's patience waned, KG eventually emerged. Fortunately, only words were exchanged, which was ideal since he wouldn't have been able to do much given his back condition.
"I was so hurt. If he would have just nudged me and said, 'Man, watch out, BD. This ain't got nothing to do with you,' I'd have been on the ground like this," he exclaimed, sending the podcast crew into laughter.
The incident eventually dissipated without any significant consequences, leaving Baron to heave a sigh of relief. Still, the message was clear — hurt or not, he was going to ride with his teammates.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
