An image shared on Facebook claims former NBA player Kevin Garnett said, “If you can’t win alone, you’re considered a bum.”

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Garnett made this statement. The alleged quote stems from a satirical Twitter account.

Fact Check:

Garnett, who played in the NBA between 1995 and 2016, won the 2008 championship as a member of the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN. He retired from the league in September 2016 after 21 seasons and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, the outlet reported.

An image shared on Facebook claims he recently criticized the current state of the NBA. The post shows an image of Garnett along with an alleged quote of his that reads, “Everybody’s just running from the grind nowadays, teaming up with each other. Back in my day, we did it the hard way! If you can’t win alone, you’re considered a bum. Period.”

The post cites “Robert Buchanan and Ballsack Sports” as the sources of the news. However, there is no evidence Garnett actually made this statement. It does not appear in any of Garnett’s social media posts and there are no credible news reports to corroborate the statement’s authenticity. (RELATED: Was Rick Fox A Passenger In The Helicopter Crash That Killed Kobe Bryant And 8 Others?)

An internet search reveals the quote stems from the satirical Twitter account @RobertBuchananFOX. The account, which identifies itself as a “parody account,” shared the same quote graphic visible in the Facebook post on Feb. 16.

Kevin Garnett criticized the state of the NBA today, via interview with @BallsackSports. pic.twitter.com/OU5ZdPgitC

— Robert Buchanan  (@RobBuchananFOX) February 16, 2022

“Kevin Garnett criticized the state of the NBA today, via interview with @BallsackSports,” reads the tweet’s caption. The account @BallsackSports is another satirical sports Twitter account, according to The Big Lead.

This is not the first time a fictitious quote has been misattributed to a basketball player. In January, Check Your Fact debunked a viral claim that alleged basketball icon Michael Jordan referred to Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James as “the GOAT.”