It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time for Georges Niang

It’s peanut butter jelly time in the NBA as the league is plagued by legions of players loving the simple sandwich.

Kevin Garnett’s legacy in the NBA can be found throughout the league, and even in the Indiana Pacers locker room. How specifically, though, has Garnett affected the blue and gold?

No, it wasn’t his sit down and chat with Paul George at All-Star Weekend.

It is in the form of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

According to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, Garnett got the trend started during the 2007-08 season when he had one before a game and then played well that night. Holmes goes into great detail on how this simple sandwich became a staple of NBA locker rooms after word got out the Boston Celtics had this secret weapon.

Indiana Pacers rookie Georges Niang is part of the NBA’s PB&J cult, according to this anecdote from Holmes’ epic investigation of PB&J.

"Pacers nutritionist Lindsay Langford says rookie Georges Niang begs — yes, begs — for her PB&J recovery-shake recipe (frozen blueberries, vanilla whey protein, creamy peanut butter and milk), which she makes, once a week, to his delight."

Niang loves himself some PB&J, in whatever form it may come.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

All of this reminds me of the somewhat unexpected love for the Cheesecake Factory among NBA players.

In Josh Martin of Now We Feast‘s investigation of this phenomenon, he talked to another Pacer, Al Jefferson, who enjoys patronizing the restaurant.

"For many who start out in the league, The Cheesecake Factory is aspirational. For those who rode basketball out of poverty, like Indiana Pacers center Al Jefferson, it’s a quantum leap forward culinarily, but one that won’t break the bank for those managing the budgets of their rookie contracts.“I think it’s a five-star restaurant with three-star prices,” Jefferson said."

Ballin’ on a budget and solid fiscal advice for NBA players and fans.

Next: Pacers Hovering Around the Middle of the Power Rankings

If I’m thinking right, this means the holy grail of NBA food might be some sort of peanut butter and jelly cheesecake.