By admin 
Kendall Gill and George Karl had one of the nastiest feuds in the 90s, yet no one barely remembers it today. Their relationship deteriorated during Gill’s time with the Seattle SuperSonics, with the guard becoming increasingly vocal about his dislike for the coach.
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However, then again, this wasn’t simply a case of a player being unhappy with his minutes. Gill and Karl seemed to genuinely rub each other the wrong way. Kendall sounded like he hated George’s very existence, so much so that the former was prepared to go out of the country to avoid the latter or inflict harm on him.
How the beef began
It’s not unusual for players and coaches to have disagreements. They see the game from different points of view, so they naturally wouldn’t see eye to eye all the time.
But what happened between Gill and Karl was no ordinary matter. Normally, Kendall refused to say anything against his former coach, but over two years since the SuperSonics traded for him in 1993, he could no longer bite his tongue. (Seattle then traded Gill back to Charlotte, which then shipped him to New Jersey during the 1995-96 season.)
Gill found a completely different relationship with John Calipari after arriving with the Nets. He was a “first one at the gym, last to leave” type of guy, earning praise from his coach. Kendall insisted he brought the same work ethic to the Sonics, but George saw things differently.
According to KG, the tension began when Karl used his weekly radio show to call his shooting guard overpaid. (Gill’s contract was worth $3.2 million a year.) Kendall talked to George about it, and the latter apologized. Later, Gill recalled Karl erasing his name in the starting lineup written on the whiteboard, going with Nate McMillan instead, without alerting him of the change.
Playing some of his basketball for the Nets, Gill went all out at Karl.
“I would have done anything to get away from George Karl. I would have played in Baghdad,” Gill said. “(Karl) said I was selfish, but you guys can see right now I’m not selfish. I can take as many shots as I want to on this team, but I don’t. I mean, I pass the ball. I try and get everybody involved in the game. That’s the same way I was there.”
Then came some fighting words.
“Yeah, he did (try to ruin my reputation),” Kendall continued. “Which is why I wouldn’t mind running into him in a dark alley somewhere and then we’d see how much smack he’s gonna talk.
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“Judgment day will come and he’ll have to meet his maker. . . . All the characters he’s tried to destroy, he’ll have to pay for,” the fifth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft added.
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A long list of players who hated Karl
It’s unfair to put all the blame on Karl, but the pattern is hard to ignore. As they say, if you find problems anywhere you go, maybe you’re the problem.
In short, Gill wasn’t the only one who had issues with Karl. In fact, we can go through a long list of George’s former players who hated him. Kenyon Martin accused the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year of talking down to the people in the Denver Nuggets organization.
Then, Karl questioned Carmelo Anthony’s leadership in his memoir, a “revelation” that surprised the superstar, as they had never had friction during their time in Colorado. Karl also made a negative comment about Damian Lillard. Meanwhile, Ray Allen publicly declared he “despised” his former Milwaukee Bucks coach for being a one-sided talker.
That’s quite a resumè of player grievances. That does not automatically mean he’s the villain, but it’s hard to overlook how often this happened, just because Karl couldn’t help but open his mouth and disparage somebody.
Related: “I could slide with MJ, I could slide with Kobe” – Kendall Gill names his toughest ’90s matchup
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This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 7:47 AM.