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
Thank you KG for 2007-2008 aka Banner 17 and your quotes and everything else
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.
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.
That and key injuries to Perkins, Bradley, and I would argue ShaqBalky knee is only reason why he isn't sitting here with 1 or 2 more rings.
100%.His time on the parquet was short but sweet.
But he got it.
He was a Celtic.
I love the standing ovation. I miss Boston.
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.
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.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.
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...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.
KG and the Rondo/Primus ones get me so friggin’ pumped.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...
Brings up an interesting point, and perhaps one worthy of a separate thread with a poll: who was the Celtics biggest non-draft acquisition?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
Has to be KG-Parish at the top.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?
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.Larry Bird might argue otherwise: “Dennis Johnson is the best basketball player I’ve ever played with.”
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?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.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.
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.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?
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.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?
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.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?
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: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.
https://theathletic.com/1615949/2020/02/18/kevin-garnett-jersey-retirement-boston-celtics-minnesota-timberwolves-glen-taylor/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.”
If Seattle eventually comes back, they’ll retire Allen, Payton and Kemp as a good will gesture.“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?