Celtics' Thomas fondly recalls Garnett calling him a 'little midget'

Now that Kevin Garnett has retired, it's safe to say he belongs in the pantheon of all-time NBA trash talkers alongside Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas reminisced about that this week, recounting a story to CBS Boston's Toucher & Rich.

"We were playing against Boston in Sacramento the first time I played the Celtics," the former King Thomas explained. "You know his screens were very illegal ... and I yelled, 'Stop setting them illegal screens!'

"And he was like, 'Shut your little midget a-- up.' And ever since then, he's been calling me a 'little midget,' but with other different words."

Let's face it: In a league full of tall men, height is going to be the first target for trash talk. Jordan reputedly savaged the 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues with the M-word in the 1995 playoffs, to the point that some say Bogues' career was negatively affected.

Thomas doesn't seem to have thin skin, however. Listed at 5-foot-9, the 2016 All-Star is one of the more dynamic and scrappy guards in the game.