Thank You , Kevin Garnett

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,438
per 98.5, Kevin Garnett expected to announce retirement any minute

Thank you KG for 2007-2008 aka Banner 17 and your quotes and everything else
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,091
2008 was one of the most fun seasons I've ever had rooting for a Boston team and was sorely needed after SB42. Hope he comes back to Boston from time to time. Balky knee is only reason why he isn't sitting here with 1 or 2 more rings.
 

CreedBratton

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2009
3,753
Getting dusty in here. He meant so much to me as a basketball fan. His commitment to team play and winning was amazing. An amazing Celtic. Thanks for 2008 Big Ticket. Thanks for everything.

"Anything is possible"
 

CreedBratton

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2009
3,753
Such a great commercial. Still remember when they got him. What a moment. After 20 years the Celtics were back
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
12,890
Boston, NY
I LOVED watching Kevin Garnett on the Cs. That 2007-8 season is way high on the list of Boston titles for me, and the utter dismantling of the Lakers in Game 6 is similarly high on my favorite games of all time list. KG has everything to do with all of that and I feel rather fortunate that he came to Boston. And that commercial is still incredible.
 

Erik Hanson's Hook

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 20, 2013
1,079
Love the guy sitting in his office checking out KG's profile on his work computer (who hasn't done that at work?), then walking down the hallway raising his arms a couple of cuts later. Also love the cook standing with his hands on his head after he realizes what's going on.

Should have had at least one more chip. If not for his knee and Perkins's knee, who knows...remember when they started 27-2 in '09? That's Golden State level stuff.
 

PedroKsBambino

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 17, 2003
31,191
That moment is the purest joy I have ever seen from an athlete. I love Kevin Garnett's approach and am thrilled we got to enjoy it for the end of his prime years. Enjoy your well-earned retirement, and thanks for Banner 17.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205

That whole season was magical starting with the trade (and that fantastic commercial posted above which I admit I still watch every now and again).

KG wasn't an ambassador of the game and he said and did a lot of things that would be considered unacceptable in broader society. However on a basketball court, that behavior made him one of the fiercest competitors we've seen over the past few decades. At his peak, he was an ahead-of-his-time player who played away from the rim and could defend anyone on the court. He deserved to win far more than he did.

He is one of my favorite athletes of all time.
 

RoDaddy

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 19, 2002
3,245
Albany area, NY
Balky knee is only reason why he isn't sitting here with 1 or 2 more rings.
That and key injuries to Perkins, Bradley, and I would argue Shaq

He was a great Celtic, my favoritie memory being when he knelt down to kiss the Celtic's logo on the court when they won the championship
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 26, 2005
30,494
so heard a question on the radio today that maybe is interesting only to me. if you were starting a franchise, which of the three most recent retirees would you pick: KG, Kobe, or Duncan?

Lots of ways to interpret this but let's say you were starting a franchise in today's NBA and could pick a guy with the career arc of one of the three.

I'd pick KG. He can play in today's NBA; could fit in with more types of players; and wouldn't dominate the ball.

Love that he was on the Cs. wish his body could have held up for a couple of years more.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312

That whole season was magical starting with the trade (and that fantastic commercial posted above which I admit I still watch every now and again).

KG wasn't an ambassador of the game and he said and did a lot of things that would be considered unacceptable in broader society. However on a basketball court, that behavior made him one of the fiercest competitors we've seen over the past few decades. At his peak, he was an ahead-of-his-time player who played away from the rim and could defend anyone on the court. He deserved to win far more than he did.

He is one of my favorite athletes of all time.
I love the standing ovation. I miss Boston.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
https://www.nba.com/celtics/kg5
Celtics announce that they will retire KG’s #5.
A little surprising, as I think he might be the shortest tenured player to have their number retired by the team.
He drastically changed the culture of the franchise for the better. He deserves it and all the accolades that will come his way. The guy was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition of the last ~40-50 years.

Also, his fit in Boston and with Pierce was as close to seamless as you will ever get. As we now know far too well, getting guys to accept their roles, fit in with the team and lead a group by example isn't easy to find amongst superstar players.


View: https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1228139390414790656?s=20
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,438
I love it when 3+ year old threads get bumped. But this is the best bump of all. Kongrats, Kevin, you deserve it! Can't wait to be there when it happens.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
Congrats to the T-Wolves, by far their best player in franchise history is getting his jersey retired somewhere else first
 

the1andonly3003

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,371
Chicago
Love the guy sitting in his office checking out KG's profile on his work computer (who hasn't done that at work?), then walking down the hallway raising his arms a couple of cuts later. Also love the cook standing with his hands on his head after he realizes what's going on.

Should have had at least one more chip. If not for his knee and Perkins's knee, who knows...remember when they started 27-2 in '09? That's Golden State level stuff.
NBA's mid-2000s ad campaign were great. I especially remember the one with Rob Thomas' Ever the Same - and to have one centered on the Celtics...
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
Moderator
SoSH Member
KG would be in my all-time top 20, and he played a few peak years here. Also, it wasn’t his choice not to finish his career here. Retiring KG’s number in Boston is a no-brainer, similar to retiring Wilt’s number in LA.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,091
2007 really was sports nirvana. Pats destroying people. Celtics dismantling people with prime KG. Sox finishing off a title. Matty Ice mania for BC. That stretch will never be topped.
 

Saints Rest

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
He drastically changed the culture of the franchise for the better. He deserves it and all the accolades that will come his way. The guy was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition of the last ~40-50 years.

Also, his fit in Boston and with Pierce was as close to seamless as you will ever get. As we now know far too well, getting guys to accept their roles, fit in with the team and lead a group by example isn't easy to find amongst superstar players.


View: https://twitter.com/JaredWeissNBA/status/1228139390414790656?s=20
Brings up an interesting point, and perhaps one worthy of a separate thread with a poll: who was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition?
KG
Chief
DJ
Am I missing anyone?
 

Devizier

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 3, 2000
19,469
Somewhere
Brings up an interesting point, and perhaps one worthy of a separate thread with a poll: who was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition?
KG
Chief
DJ
Am I missing anyone?
Has to be KG-Parish at the top.
DJ-Ray Allen in the second tier.

Honorable mentions for Ed Macauley and Don Nelson.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
Larry Bird might argue otherwise: “Dennis Johnson is the best basketball player I’ve ever played with.”
Bird can do so but I would argue that those Celtics teams still might have won rings without Johnson. I think that the Cs would never have won 17 without KG.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Bird can do so but I would argue that those Celtics teams still might have won rings without Johnson. I think that the Cs would never have won 17 without KG.
Exactly. Do people around back then remember how often DJ was the weak link out there with teams literally daring him to shoot uncontested 17-foot elbow jumpers Ben Simmons—style?
 

lexrageorge

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
18,096
Bird can do so but I would argue that those Celtics teams still might have won rings without Johnson. I think that the Cs would never have won 17 without KG.
They did win a ring with Chris Ford and Tiny Archibald leading the backcourt in 1981. And then Tiny got hurt in the 1982 ECF, or the 63-win Celtics might have won another.

Exactly. Do people around back then remember how often DJ was the weak link out there with teams literally daring him to shoot uncontested 17-foot elbow jumpers Ben Simmons—style?
The Celtics backcourt was a mess in 1983, and DJ was exactly what they needed: an experienced hand who could distribute the ball and play defense.

Back to the thought exercise: had they replaced DJ with a league average or worse PG, they probably still win in 1986, but the Lakers probably would have won in 1984. But KG was far more irreplaceable to the circa 2008-10 Celtics; neither team from that era even sniffs the Finals without him.
 

kfoss99

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2009
1,192
Walton wore 5, won a ring with the C's, and is in the hall of fame. Shouldn't they both be recognized. Or was Walton's tenure too short?
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

family crest has godzilla
SoSH Member
Jul 26, 2007
3,721
The Short Bus
Brings up an interesting point, and perhaps one worthy of a separate thread with a poll: who was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition?
KG
Chief
DJ
Am I missing anyone?
Neither Cousy nor Russell were actually drafted by the Celtics. Russell was part of a trade, And I think the team that drafted Cousy actually folded and the Celts picked him up.
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,017
Imaginationland
Walton wore 5, won a ring with the C's, and is in the hall of fame. Shouldn't they both be recognized. Or was Walton's tenure too short?
90 games with the Celtics in which he averaged 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Compare that to Garnett who played 396 games in Boston and averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Garnett had more than twice as many all star appearances (5) as Walton did starts (2), and in their championship year, he won the DPOY award and finished 3rd in the MVP voting. The two aren't remotely comparable, other than the points you mentioned above.
 

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,103
Anyone wondering why the Timberwolves haven’t retired Garnett’s number yet, here’s a good piece from the Athletic with the background on his feud with owner Glen Taylor, starting with some comments Taylor made after KG was traded to Boston:
The trade certainly rankled Garnett, perhaps a belief that the team was giving up on his ability to lead it to the heights everyone wanted but had not delivered. But the split grew wider late in the 2007-08 season, when Taylor was asked about the perception that the team had tanked in Garnett’s final year for a better draft pick.

“I’d say KG tanked it,” Taylor said, referring to Garnett missing the final five games of the season with a knee injury.

The suggestion infuriated Garnett and his representatives. There were plenty of nits to pick with Garnett — from the way the ultra-intense franchise player would occasionally conduct himself behind the scenes to his unwillingness to challenge Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell when they pouted through contract issues in 2005. But questioning his competitive juices? That was crossing a line in his mind.

That led to a long, cold war between the icon and the franchise he essentially put on the map. He always spoke highly of the city and fans on his return trips with the Celtics and Nets, but it was clear there was no love lost for Taylor and the franchise.
Then when Garnett wound up back on the team at the end of his playing career, Flip Saunders tried to mend the fences, with KG wanting to transition to some front office role with an ownership stake:
He still harbored a grudge against Taylor, but Saunders’ unending optimism helped to soften that. Saunders knew Garnett was more interested in getting into the ownership and executive side of basketball after he retired rather than coaching and believed that, with Taylor exploring selling the franchise, there was a way to mend the rift and cement Garnett’s place in the franchise for the long term.

“If you have a story, this is a fairy tale,” Garnett said when he returned to Minnesota. “This is a perfect ending to it. This is how you want to do it.”

Saunders wanted Garnett to mentor Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Ricky Rubio on the court as he prepared to enter into the next phase of his basketball life. Then the Wolves won the lottery to secure No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, a modern big who could learn so much from KG, and everything seemed to be falling in line.

Then tragedy struck when Saunders died from complications with Hodgkins lymphoma. His death rocked the organization, gutted Garnett, and essentially scuttled any plans for Garnett’s easy transition from playing to the executive suite.

When Taylor decided to move on from coach Sam Mitchell, a close friend of Garnett’s, after the 2015-16 season and hire Tom Thibodeau as president of basketball operations and coach, Garnett viewed it as the organization phasing him out as well.

Throughout that previous season, KG had made it clear behind the scenes that he planned on taking over as a primary decision-maker in the franchise. He wanted to be an owner and implement his own vision for where this team could go. That he wasn’t consulted on the decision not to retain Mitchell and the implementation of a new front office felt like a betrayal to him.

“I think if you put enough blood, sweat and tears into these organizations, you should have at least the option to be able to buy into or have a piece of it,” Garnett said during an All-Star weekend appearance with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their “All the Smoke” podcast. “Hell, you helped build it.

“When I got to Minnesota that shit was worth like $89 million or something. … Ten years in, that shit was almost at a billion. You don’t get none of the appreciation for that. The culture that people know and why they coming to games, you built all that in sweat, blood and equity. You don’t get a choice to be in that. That has to change at some point.”
https://theathletic.com/1615949/2020/02/18/kevin-garnett-jersey-retirement-boston-celtics-minnesota-timberwolves-glen-taylor/
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
Moderator
SoSH Member
“Best player not to have his number retired somewhere” is an interesting debate.

George Milan’s #99 is not retired, probably because the Lakers had moved to LA by the time retiring numbers became a thing.

Gary Payton’s number is not retired for similar reasons — there’s no question his #20 would be in the rafters if the Sonics hadn’t left Seattle.

Ray Allen’s number is also not retired anywhere, and while it’s not a slam-dunk like Payton, you have to think he would’ve been honored in Seattle if the Sonics still existed.

Who else?
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,438
By "somewhere" you mean the NBA?
Mikan's number was retired by DePaul. Among the NBA top 50, I believe only Johnny Kerr joins Mikan as not having NBA team retire their number. I don't believe Illinois retired Kerr's, or even if he had a number there.
Mikan's 99 was also "honored" by Lakers, and I doubt anyone else will wear it due to the number itself.
 

Hoya81

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 3, 2010
8,457
“Best player not to have his number retired somewhere” is an interesting debate.

George Milan’s #99 is not retired, probably because the Lakers had moved to LA by the time retiring numbers became a thing.

Gary Payton’s number is not retired for similar reasons — there’s no question his #20 would be in the rafters if the Sonics hadn’t left Seattle.

Ray Allen’s number is also not retired anywhere, and while it’s not a slam-dunk like Payton, you have to think he would’ve been honored in Seattle if the Sonics still existed.

Who else?
If Seattle eventually comes back, they’ll retire Allen, Payton and Kemp as a good will gesture.

There are a surprising number of Hall of Famers without NBA retired numbers: Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Bob McAdoo, Artis Gilmore, Bernard King, Walt Bellamy to name a few. Seems to be mostly a combination of never staying too long in one place (Hill, McGrady, , Bellamy, McAdoo) or playing for defunct franchises.
 

CreedBratton

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2009
3,753
Considering the lack of stars Orlando is ever gonna get & T-Mac winning two scoring titles with them, they should retire his jersey.
 

TFisNEXT

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
12,529
Awesome and well-deserved for KG.

This thread does bring back a mild sore spot though...I am still miffed about the 2009 knee injury that ended KG's season. That team was going to repeat if he doesn't get injured.