Matt Barnes’ seven-year-old son, Ashton, already has Kevin Garnett comparing him to Shaquille O’Neal.
During an appearance on KG Certified, Barnes spoke about his son’s size and basketball skills before pulling up footage for Garnett to watch.
“My seven-year-old is the biggest seven-year-old in the country,” Barnes said.
According to Barnes, Ashton stands 5-foot-2, weighs 125 pounds and wears a size 10 in men’s shoes.
“You got to think his mom is 5’10 and thick, strong. His mom 200, you know, 200 pounds. I’m 6’8. So this boy is going to be a monster,” he said.
“You got a little Diesel?” Garnett asked, referencing O’Neal’s nickname.
“Bro, he’s huge, bro,” Barnes replied.
As they watched the video, the two commented on Ashton’s crossover and shots off the glass. Barnes also pointed out that his son had dunked after the game.
He explained that people have questioned why Ashton isn’t competing against older children.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Why don’t you put him up in a different league?’” Barnes said. “And I’m just like, this is second grade for the school.”
Although Ashton also plays outside of school, Barnes said he hasn’t started training him yet.
“This is just all … he’s done off his own merit,” he said.
With his older twins, Barnes waited until they were around 13 or 14 to begin training, giving them time to decide whether they wanted to pursue basketball. He plans to start earlier with Ashton.
“I’m going to push Ash sooner cuz he says he wants it and he sees his brothers,” Barnes said, later adding, “We’re going to start training next Thursday.”
“But he’s so nice. All he does is smile,” Barnes added.
When Barnes suggested teaching him to be more aggressive, Garnett encouraged him to let Ashton enjoy himself.
“He got the happy running and everything, man,” Garnett said. “Let him go.”
Barnes shares Ashton and younger son Austin with Anansa Sims. He is also dad to twin sons Carter and Isaiah with ex-wife Gloria Govan.
