How ‘Uncut Gems’ — a film made by Celtics haters — came to star Kevin Garnett

“Uncut Gems” was never supposed to involve the Celtics — but somehow, Boston legend Kevin Garnett was precisely the right man for the job.

By now, most Boston Celtics fans have caught wind of the new Adam Sandler film Uncut Gems, and for good reason.

It happens to revolve around a certain familiar face and his real-life adventures trying to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012, at least as a backdrop to Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner — a gambling-addicted jeweler to the stars.

That familiar face is of course none other than Kevin Garnett, but it may come as a surprise that the future Hall-of-Famer wasn’t even the film’s second choice in the role.

That honor would fall to longtime Garnett nemesis Kobe Bryant, who turned down the role, the Los Angeles Laker luminary having a desire to direct films, out of the limelight for a change.

The player the film was initially written for was former New York Knick Amar’e Stoudemire, who happens to share an affinity for the Big Apple, it’s first NBA team, and the Jewish heritage of the film’s producers, Bennie and Josh Safdie.

In fact, it’s something of a miracle the film ever made it to the screen as a Celtics-oriented film at all, as the Safdies are die-hard Knicks fans, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Speaking on Bryant’s rejection (via ESPN’s Zach Lowe), Josh explained, ” I didn’t want to make a Laker movie. I definitely didn’t want to make a Celtic movie, either.”

Star Adam Sandler — born in Brooklyn — moved to New Hampshire while a child, but never abandoned his original fandom despite relocating to a more Celtics-oriented part of the U.S.

“I could have become a Celtic fan … But I rooted against Larry Bird very hard. I wanted Julius [Erving to win]. I wanted the Sixers. I don’t know what was with me. I made a mistake.”

While it’s unclear what got the actor and comedian into the Sixers as a child, the Safdies did attempt to cast Joel Embiid before realizing production would be a near-impossible task with the rigors of an NBA player’s schedule.

So, they started looking into recently-retired players such as former Miami Heatle Chris Bosh, before reluctantly settling on the Big Ticket.

Unlike Bryant, who claims he never even got wind of the script, evidently shot down by his representation, KG took to the role in a hurry, surprising Josh.

“I would always watch [Garnett] postgame because he was so entertaining,” explained Safdie. “But I realized after meeting him that I didn’t know his real voice. I had to learn that voice. He’s eloquent. He’s a great storyteller. I wrote for that voice.”

“And he worked really hard,” added Josh.

“You realize how hard he worked in acting—he must’ve worked three times as hard on the court,” producer Sebastian Bear-McClard recalled (via the Ringer’s Alan Siegel). “And that’s what’s really fucking special about him. He was on set sweating like it was the fourth quarter of a playoff game. Like profusely. Patrick Ewing levels of fuckin’ sweat.”

Though Garnett was effectively just playing himself, capturing the nuance required for a feature film is no easy task, a task the NBA champion rose to.

“Acting is preparation, just like anything else,” offered Garnett. “I didn’t want to fail them. They took a risk on me. When I showed up to set, I was ready. It took me back to, ‘OK, it’s Rasheed Wallace tonight. It’s Tim Duncan tonight’ — watching film.”

“I took those same things coming in here,” remarked the 15-time All-Star.

Celtics lead team governor Wyc Grousbeck approved of the casting, which features Garnett buying into the idea that one of Sandler’s character’s gems is imbued with unusual abilities.

“There is some supernatural power inside KG, and the idea it would come from a gem is perfect and believable,” insisted Grousbeck.

After countless takes and re-assessment of the importance of NBA fandom when making a basketball-oriented film, “Uncut Gems” somehow survived the quite real animus many other fanbases have towards the Boston franchise.

It was recently shown in screenings in which the resulting product unsettled audience members who were part of that 2012 Sixers-Celtics series, such as then-player, now-general manager Elton Brand, now at the helm of the team he played for that postseason.

Weaving together actual footage of the series, Brand recalled his emotions while watching, with a scene depicting Sandler’s character asking Garnett to “step on Elton Brand’s [expletive] neck”

“I was rooting for myself the entire movie,” offered the former Philly big man.

“They were showing KG hitting all those midrange jumpers in my face, and I just kept hoping in the movie they would let us win. I was there. I know what happened. That’s when you know a movie is good — when it transports you.”

If it managed to convince the very people on the other side of the ball in the real-life aspects of the fictional production, it’s likely Brand’s assessment is a good one.

After today’s limited release, Celtics fans (and haters) will be able to catch the film in theaters across the U.S. and Canada on December 25th, Christmas Day.