Kevin Garnett Back in the Spotlight, Stars in “Uncut Gems” movie with Adam Sandler

Kevin Garnett at “Uncut Gems” movie premier with Adam Sandler and Crew

Hearing of a new Adam Sandler movie doesn’t really surprise anyone. The comedian-turned-actor starred on popular shoes such as Saturday Night Live before starting an illustrious movie career. Now he shares the spotlight with an unlikely basketball hero in the new Uncut Gems movie.

Kevin Garnett achieved fame in several ways. Particularly, he is one of the greatest power forwards of all time. Along with receiving honors such as MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, he is one of the only players drafted straight out of high school. Now he’s taking his talents off the court and onto the big screen. In addition, the basketball star is the only actor playing himself in the movie.

The Gambler and the Player

In the new Uncut Gems movie, Adam Sandler plays a jeweler with a bit of a gambling problem. But what do jewelry and basketball have in common? Kevin Garnett has his reasons.

Notably, the directors Josh and Benny Safdie rose to fame with breakout hits including ‘Good Time’ starring Robert Pattinson. But they explain that they were at first a bit uneasy about Garnett’s appearance in the movie.

“The problem is, Benny and I have a sickness. It’s called being a Knicks fan,” Josh said. “I got to admit, Kevin as a player, I hated him more than anyone, because he was so good. He always killed us.”

“It made me jealous of all the people who got to love Kevin as a player,” Benny followed. “Because as an actor, he was amazing to work with.”

In the Uncut Gems movie, Kevin Garnett seeking to obtain an Ethiopian black opal from Sandler. Interestingly, the directors asked Garnett to imagine the jewel held superstitious powers. Usually, actors receive character biographies to help them get into character. However, since the basketball-star plays himself he had to imagine his own motives for wanting such a rare gem.

Ballin’ on the Big Screen

But as it turns out, Garnett was just as natural an actor as he was a basketball player. “Obviously the one thing that everyone knows about Kevin as a player is that he’s serious and there’s a passion involved,” said Josh. “He brought that on the film set.”

Kevin Garnett also commented on the process of working in the Uncut Gems movie. “The first day we were all around each other, it was like we were all superheroes,” he said. “And everybody had a superpower, and we were all sitting around learning each other’s powers. I’m not surprised at the noise this movie is getting, because it felt special.”

Originally, the film cast stars like Amar’e Stoudmire, Kobe Bryant and Joel Embiid. Although, Kevin Garnett showed special interest in working with Sandler. Specifically, he looks up to the film’s star as an idol. “A couple of times I messed up. Adam picked it up and kept going,” Garnett said.” The brilliance in Adam– I was able to see that through this. I’m just trying to soak it up.”

The Uncut Gems movie premieres on December 13, 2019.