By James Johnson
March 17, 2022
About a week ago the legendary NBA franchise Celtics retire Garnett’s Jersey. The Big Ticket was apart of the Big 3 that brought the organization the last title back in 2008 against their archrivals. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have been enemies on the court for many decades dating all the way back to the 1950’s. Garnett had the honor and privilege of playing alongside fellow hall of famers Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to take down the late Kobe Bryant and the 08’ Lakers team. The franchise went through a 22-year drought before winning another NBA title. With the help of solid role players and coaching of Glenn “Doc’ Rivers, Garnett and the Celtics were able to ban together to win another Larry O’Brien trophy. Garnett was considered one of the best players in the NBA at the time and the Celtics organization were looking to get back to Championship status.
Before becoming the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett had made a name for himself in his hometown Greenville South Carolina and in the city of Chicago. He began is high school basketball career in Mauldin, South Carolina playing at Mauldin High School. After being involved in an incident before his last season of high school career Garnett would move to the west side of Chicago to play for Farragut Career Academy which is where he became the National High School Player of the Year. As a senior Garnett averaged 25.5 points, 6.7 assists and 17.9 rebounds per game breaking school records. He also was named to the McDonalds All-American team winning player of the game. KG was recruited by some of the top colleges in the country such as schools like Michigan University and University of Maryland. He would have workouts for NBA scouts and former NBA veterans to prove he could make the jump from high school to the pros. After impressing hall of famer Kevin McHale, he would declare for the 1995 NBA draft.
Garnett would be drafted to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 5th overall pick in the first round of the 1995 NBA draft. He is one of few players to be drafted straight from high school to the pros with Moses Malone being the first player in 1974 drafted to the Utah Stars. Coming into the league as 18-year-old Kevin Garnett had many doubters because of he did not have collegiate background. KG wanted to prove to is peers and himself that he could adapt to playing amongst the best players in the world. As a rookie Garnett played 80 games and started 43 games averaging 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Garnett got more playing time towards the end of his rookie season once some of the veterans of the team began to go down with injuries. In his sophomore season a new class of rookies came in the league during the 1996-1997 season which made Garnett want to improve his game. In his sophomore season he started 77 games now averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He also would make his first all-star appearance coming off the bench for the western conference all-star team.
In his third season as a Timberwolf Kevin Garnett signed a six-year contract for 126 million dollars making him one of the highest paid power forwards in NBA history. He would go onto to play all 82 games while averaging 18.4 points, 9.6 points and 1.8 blocks which made him a candidate for All-NBA team honors. From here on out Garnett went on to have much success playing in multiple playoff series, making 11 All-star appearances and to 8 all-NBA teams before arriving to the Boston Celtics. Garnett and other role players such as Sam Cassell & Latrell Sprewell tried to compete against the juggernauts in the West such as the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, but the teams had too much fire power. In the 2007-2008 offseason there were talks of Garnett being traded to the Lakers for center Andrew Bynum and small forward Lamar Odom.
The Celtics organization wanted to get back to being a championship winning franchise, so they moved heaven and earth to get Kevin Garnett and sharp-shooter Ray Allen to help Paul Pierce bring a title back to the city of Boston. Once the team was assembled critics wondered if the team could pull off the impossible. In his first season as a Celtic on played 71 games missing almost 10 games due to abdominal injury. He once again had an all-star worthy season averaging 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. After the regular season ended Garnett would win his second defensive player of the year award. This award was special to KG but what he really wanted to accomplish was winning an NBA title solidifying his legendary career. The Celtics dominated the Eastern Conference before meeting the championship rivals in the finals. The Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 brining the franchise their 17th championship ring.
Garnett’s legacy will forever live on in the city of Boston joining other hall of famers that the privilege of wearing Celtics uniform. Years after winning the championship Kevin Garnett and other teammates from the championship team had personal issues with former Big 3 member Ray Allen. The issues surrounded Allen joining foe Lebron James and the Miami Heat to win another title. Allen, Garnett and Paul Pierce have done interviews over the years discussing their personal issues with one another, but the three halls of famers came together to honor KG during this memorable ceremony. All his former teammates from the 2008 championship team had the honor being a part of the Celtics retiring Garnett’s jersey.
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Celtics will retire Kevin Garnett’s number on March 13 (boston.com)
Celtics’ Kevin Garnett shares his love for Boston’s fans (usatoday.com)
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