Big Love For The Big Ticket
BOSTON (CBS) -- Kevin Garnett was only with the Celtics for six years, but his impact was enormous and long-lasting. His larger-than-life personality and unrelenting intensity changed everything with the franchise, lifting the Celtics from the basement of the NBA to the rafters of the TD Garden.
And on Sunday, his No. 5 will take its place in those very rafters, within screaming distance of that the 2008 NBA Championship banner that he helped raise. Without Garnett, the wait for Banner 17 in Boston would likely still be going on.
Garnett's arrival in Boston was one of those moments where you'll always remember where you were. It was nearly impossible to contain one's jubilation when the Celtics, after months of rumors and false hope, finally acquired Garnett in a blockbuster trade with the Timberwolves.
That moment inspired one of the best NBA commercials of the last few decades, and many more followed as Boston embarked on a historic title run. Bringing Garnett to Boston, following a two-decade title drought for the Celtics and one of the worst seasons in franchise history, changed everything. The culture. The expectations. The vision. Everything.
As a WBZ-TV sports producer at the time, I was in Connecticut to spend my mid-week weekend with my future wife, who was in her final year of college. That left me alone with no one to share the moment with, since the Nutmeg State was not exactly Celtics territory. I feverishly sent texts to everyone I knew (I believe they were still 10 cents a pop at that time) with messages that were just as colorful as the language Garnett would treat Boston fans with for the next six years. In an era before memes and emojis, people were still using words to express themselves.
Bored out of my mind and unable to keep quiet about the Big Ticket pickup, I called Dan Roche. He was excited about KG, but was more interested in talking about the Red Sox picking up Eric Gagne. Dammit, Rochie -- not now! I had to let out a Garnett-like roar just to get the emotions out of my system. Luckily, no one in Hamden seemed to notice.
When the love of my life returned from a long day in the classroom, she knew something big had just happened. She had no idea who Kevin Garnett was, but soon learned how important this moment was for my beloved Celtics. They were relevant again, and not just that, but they may actually be great. Championship-level great.
A chat about her day followed, but I couldn't tell you anything about it. My attention was on ESPN, which was airing Garnett's introductory press conference. There he was, next to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, each of whom had a look of determination in their eyes. They all had one goal in mind, and that was to win a title. Individual stats be damned, it was time for the three all-time greats to get their ring.
Their press conference was not a celebration. There was no promise of multiple championships, only a pledge that the newformed trio was going to give it their all and put in the work. Shortcuts would not be accepted. No corners would be cut. Blood and sweat would be sacrificed along with their personal statistics, all for the greater good of the name on the front of the jersey and the city it represented.
It's a moment that still gives me goosebumps. As incredible as that moment was, these new-look Celtics had a lot of talk to back up.
And back it up they did, adding a lot more of those memorable, goosebump-inducing moments over the next year. The Celtics dominated the NBA in Garnett's first season alongside Pierce and Allen, marching to 66 wins during the regular season. Their defense was downright terrifying under the watchful (and equally terrifying) eyes of Garnett, posting an NBA-best 98.9 defensive rating. He was named Defensive Player of the Year, and when presented with the award, he called all of his teammates to the floor to share the moment with and get their due credit. The team always came first for him.
After some early adversity in the postseason, going seven games with both the Atlanta Hawks and Lebron James and the Cavaliers over the first two rounds, they dispatched the Pistons in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals before a glorious six-game Finals victory over the L.A. Lakers. The Celtics didn't lose that season because Garnett wouldn't let them. And no one wanted to upset or disappoint KG on that team.
Watching him soak in the championship glory after thoroughly dismantling the Lakers on the TD Garden floor is another one of those moments that will forever live in NBA lore. Overcome with emotion, he told the world that anything was possible, and the sky seemed to be the limit for the Celtics going forward. The Celtics were champs once again, and a force to be reckoned with.
Unfortunately, Garnett was hurt midway through the following season and never made it back, ending Boston's chance to repeat. They were back in the Finals the following season, but fell to the Lakers in a heartbreaking seven-game series. Danny Ainge's stunning and chemistry busting trade of Kendrick Perkins in 2010-11 broke up the Finals core, and ended and title hopes that season.
The Celtics were supposed to be cooked after that. Garnett was turning 35 and had a lot of miles on those legs of his, and it was clear that he was not the same player on either end of the floor. But he was still his fiery and borderline-homicidal self, and the Celtics made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals, taking LeBron and his own Big 3 in Miami to a Game 7. The Garnett-Pierce-Allen glory days were over after that, with Ray departing for Miami that offseason.
The Celtics got another year out of Garnett before sending him and Pierce to Brooklyn in another franchise-altering deal. That trade has set up this next generation of Celtics, with Ainge's bounty from Brooklyn eventually bringing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to Boston. Add another assist to Garnett's Celtics career for that one.
He left with five All-Star appearances, four All-Defensive teams and an All-NBA First Team during his time in green. It's a shame the Celtics won just one title under Garnett's watch, with injuries derailing what could have been another dynasty in Celtics history.
That one banner and short time with the team has some questioning why he'll soon take his place among the other greats in Celtics history. But there is no debate. Garnett deserves his spot high above the parquet floor at the Garden for turning the franchise around from some of its darkest days. He not only changed the culture, but was the Celtics culture over those six years.
Garnett may have won just one title with Boston, but he completely changed the franchise the second he walked through that door. Without Garnett, who knows what the Boston Celtics would look like today.
