Final Farewell? Garnett Gets Ovation, Gino Time In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- In what could be his final trip to Boston as an NBA player, Kevin Garnett didn't even play.
But his presence was felt throughout the TD Garden on Monday night, and the 39-year-old certainly felt the love from the Boston faithful.
Garnett sat out Monday night's 113-99 Timberwolves loss to the Celtics, Minnesota's second game in as many nights. Now an old man by NBA standards, Garnett doesn't play on back-to-back nights. So despite the "We Want KG!" chants that serenaded the Garden midway through the first quarter and throughout the game, KG wasn't going to take the court.
"I really wanted them to stop that because I didn't know if [Wolves head coach] Sam [Mitchell] was going to actually put me in," Garnett joked after the game. "I was like, 'Please, please!' But it was cool. The unconditional appreciation is overwhelming. So thank you guys for that. I appreciate that."
Those chants turned into "Thank You, KG!" as the game evolved into a Celtics victory in the fourth quarter. And when Celtics head coach Brad Stevens called a timeout with just over a minute to play, Garnett got one final glimpse at his old friend Gino -- the bearded American Bandstand dancer who shows off some slick moves to the Bee Gee's "You Should Be Dancing." That video became famous as Boston's victory cigar during Garnett's six years in Boston, and Garnett always looked like a kid on Christmas morning whenever it played in the Garden.
Garnett looked up at the video board as his old pal showed his moves, enjoying one more Gino viewing party. When the dancing was done he thanked the 18,000-plus in attendance for all the love they showed during the game, and whipped away tears as he took his seat on the bench.
Kevin Garnett soaks in #GinoTime one last time at @tdgarden pic.twitter.com/CFuu3vkQhv
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 22, 2015
"[Gino] was like the cherry on top for me, you know?" said Garnett. "My teammates were looking at me like, 'What is this?' I was like, 'I'll explain later.' So thank you for whoever put the Gino on. I know my guys here put it on for me, so I appreciate that."
The chants (and Gino) were the very least Boston fans and the organization could do for the man responsible for bringing Banner 17 to Boston. Garnett completely changed the franchise upon his arrival in July 2007, making the Celtics a defensive juggernaut on the floor and annual contender. His six seasons in Boston are just a fraction of his 21-year NBA career, but he made the most of it all. He formed another Celtics version of "The Big Three" with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and just under a year after the band got together the team was parading through the streets of Boston as NBA champs. Garnett and Company would guide the Celtics back to another NBA Final (falling to the Lakers in seven games in 2009-10) and a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011-12.
His No. 5 will one day take its place in the Garden rafters along with other Celtics greats, as was evident when they showed the empty spots below Robert Parish's No. 00 and Cedric Maxwell's No. 31 after Gino Time.
Boston will never forget Kevin Garnett, and Kevin Garnett will never forget Boston.
"Boston's always been a special place in my heart and probably always will," he said. "Tonight, although the outcome wasn't the way I wanted it to be, it was a great homecoming. It felt really good to be in the building."
His jersey may now say Timberwolves on the front, but Kevin Garnett will always bleed green.