The imposing figure of the Minnesota Timberwolves star is now finding its home in three Nike ads. One has him playing foozball with some friends and Brandy Chastain, the star of the woman's World Cup soccer team. The other two finds him playing pick-up basketball, including a very funny game of one-on-one with a comedian from the "King of Queens" show. I don't know about you, but I like Kevin Garnett and I like him in these ads. I hope he does more.

Why could Kevin Garnett be the next star of sports commercials? Because it seems to the audience as if he's not trying to be something he isn't. He makes no claims about being a Boy Scout. He is just an athlete, and those who have followed his career know he is a passionate one. Although these Nike commercials do not feature him expressing the passion he does on the court, at least they don't try to reverse that image.

There's also something a little "dangerous," for lack of a better word, about Kevin Garnett. It's not simply that he doesn't pretend to be a Boy Scout, it's that he and Nike are aware that it would be silly to portray him as one. In the Brandy Chastain ad, when Brandy scores a goal in foozball, Garnett waits eagerly for her to tear her shirt off as she did on the field. Would Michael Jordan be in such an ad? Doubtful, for he would lose some of the "Space Jam" audience. But with Garnett, these ads work.

I hope that this style of advertising is a trend in sports commercials. I am tired of pretending that all athletes are great people. I am not tired of admired great athletes for their great athleticism. But I think the American people, perhaps jaded by the cry-babies of professional sports and the bad behavior of many athletes, are not fooled any more by advertising that portray athletes as great people. It insults our intelligence. We are too well-informed these days to buy false portrayals.

Nike is moving in the right direction with their advertisements. The Kevin Garnett ads are the best of the bunch. The Tiger Woods ads for Nike Golf, which show his skill with the clubs, also focus exclusively on his athletic ability. However, while Nike is leading the way, they are also pulling up the rear. They produced this year's least compelling sports commercial: Shamique Holdsclaw, the Washington Mystics rookie, quoting the scripture while preparing to play. It was pretentious and ineffective, and perhaps that's why the Garnett ads have lasted so much longer.

Nevertheless, I am tired of the Boy Scout image of all these athletes in ads. It's time to do away with all the hero worship in advertising, unless it is for their athletic ability.