Kevin Garnett’s “Honey Nut Cheerios” line to Carmelo Anthony is right up there with Steve Smith’s “Ice Up Son” and Mike Tyson saying that he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’ children in terms of iconic sports trash talk moments. But now Garnett is making a surprising admission about the incident.
During an interview this week with GQ, the retired Basketball Hall of Famer addressed the infamous rumor that he talked trash to Anthony by saying that Anthony’s then-wife La La tasted like the cereal Honey Nut Cheerios.
“I’ve never said anything about anyone’s family,” said Garnett. “I never said anything to Melo about La La. I’m a Frosted Flakes man. I’m not a Honey Nut Cheerios guy. I never knew where that came from. Let me clear that up.”
The rumor, which had long since been accepted as fact, stemmed from an incident between Garnett’s Boston Celtics and Anthony’s New York Knicks in 2013. The two players got into it during a game. Then Anthony even tried to confront Garnett by the team bus afterwards. Somewhere along the line, it was reported that Garnett telling Anthony that his wife tasted like Honey Nut Cheerios was the spark that ignited the flame.
La La Anthony, who filed for divorce from her husband earlier this year, denied the rumor long ago. But that did nothing to put it to rest. The ten-time All-Star Anthony even heard “Honey Nut Cheerios” chants at the free-throw line as recently as last year. But now that we have heard Garnett’s take on the matter, we are left with an unfortunate truth — the legendary “Honey Nut Cheerios” incident never actually happened.
Photo: Dec 21, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) prior to the start of a game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
