But Paul, all of a sudden, didn't have to carry the load as the sole leader. Doc Rivers: He was prepared, you better be. If you messed up in shootaround, he knew it. So he kept me on the edge because you knew he was as prepared as the coaches, and it's rare you see that. At the time the Celtics created their New Big Three, there were legitimate concerns about fit and chemistry, and legitimate questions about how long it might take for three towering talents to mesh.
The answers came quicker than anyone could have predicted. The Celtics started the season , then ripped off two nine-game winning streaks, pushing their record to on Jan. The Celtics finished with 66 wins, their best mark sine After a strenuous run through the Eastern Conference playoffs—it took seven games to beat Atlanta and Cleveland, six to beat Detroit—the Celtics landed in the Finals against their oldest rival and the loser in the Garnett stakes , the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston dominated, claiming the championship in six games and unleashing a raucous celebration at the new Boston Garden. Garnett averaged As the green confetti fluttered, Garnett took the microphone and unleashed a primal scream for the ages, an instantly iconic moment in Finals history: "Anything is possssibllllle!
Tyronn Lue, longtime friend of Garnett's, Cavaliers assistant coach: The proudest moment for me was when he won that championship, and I got a chance to see his emotions and how he reacted. It was the best thing for me.
Paul Pierce: Oh, man, he started crying. He broke down. When you saw that, it was just like, man, you felt him. You felt him. That's when you knew. When a guy breaks down, a guy with the personality of KG, [who] is so strong, and [he] breaks down, then it means something. It means something to you. Chris Webber: I talked to him before he went to Boston. I knew what that was about. Think about it, that was his only chance. The era of the New Big Three would last another four seasons, but Garnett, Pierce and Allen would never reach that pinnacle again.
Their title defense was undermined by a knee injury that forced Garnett to miss the entire postseason. The Celtics returned to the Finals in to face the Lakers again, but they lost Perkins to an injury in Game 6 and lost an epic Game 7 that went down to the final minute.
Age and injuries eventually took their toll and the Celtics' preeminence soon faded as the power shifted to a new Big Three rising in South Beach. Paul Pierce: I had no doubt in my mind — we probably would have won 70 games that year if KG was healthy. And the rings. So it's all a lot of what-ifs, but you have that through history, with a lot of teams who didn't stay healthy after they won.
Danny Ainge: It would have been nice to win two. We were close. What do you see when you look at Kevin Garnett? Over the years, he's alternately been viewed as a warrior and a bully, a fierce defender and a dirty player, a kind spirit and a mean person, an intimidator and a mentor. He is a tough opponent—playing on the edge and sometimes over it — but a fiercely loyal teammate.
His intensity sometimes seems to border on insanity. His game-day rituals are legendary and quirky. Before introductions every night, Garnett will sit in solitude on the bench. Before tipoff, he will skip around the court, bellowing to the crowd. And he will bang his head into the basket stanchion several times, while muttering to himself and tying his shorts.
Sam Mitchell: He's gonna do the same routine. He stretches the same, he sits down on the floor in front of his locker at the same time.
He has his hot packs for his knees at the same time. He puts his shoes on a particular way. Kendrick Perkins, Celtics teammate, Before the jump ball, he goes to the sections of the fans and is like [pounding his chest several times], "Motherfs!
And the fans just go crazy. And then he started getting cheers and, and you feed off that, right? Jim LaBumbard, former Timberwolves PR director, now with Toronto: Even when he comes into town with visiting teams, I would never go say hi to him pregame, because I knew he was just locked in in just that way.
It would just be like talking to a wall. Sam Mitchell: He's game mode, all day. You keep waiting to say, is he gonna burn out doing it? But he doesn't, man. Paul Pierce: He's gonna eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Every game. We didn't even have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until he got to Boston.
So then he made our ball boys make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everybody. When KG was eating them, everybody started eating them. Doc Rivers: Before Game 6 in the Finals when we beat the Lakers, I walked in the locker room, and Kevin gets [hyped] up to where sometimes he goes over the line.
You could see it. I had him come in my office and sit. He's sitting there five, 10, 15 minutes. I don't say a word. I just go back to work. He's moving around and finally he says, "I'm in a timeout. I'm in timeout. You could hear him: "Phew" exhaling. But you think about a guy who has been in the league that long and is still that jacked up for a game that you literally have to calm him down. That's my favorite story. Kendrick Perkins: It was in a playoff game. So we were down 10 or something in the third, double figures, coming back in the fourth.
I remember him coming back on the defensive end. And you know how you get into a defensive stance , you want to get low, like before the man crosses halfcourt. He literally about crawled on the ground and got up off his knees, like "Let me see it!
It was like, damn. Tyronn Lue: A lot of people do all their howling on the court and they're faking just for attention, but what he does is genuine. So one day we were at his house and we were watching Puff Daddy's show Making the Band , and in one of the scenes, some new guys came in and were trying to sing and were trying to compete against the guys who had been there.
And KG just got so hyped, "Motherfr, you've got to stand up for yours! You've got to fight! Motherfr, you've got to come together! And he just head butts the wall and put a hole in the wall of his house. Paul Pierce: Most guys, you get warmed up but you're gonna have a slight sweat. Well, he'd have a full sweat, like he already played four quarters of a game.
Everybody's got their routine. That's his routine. Flip Saunders: He hates change. Sometimes, even opponents are graced by that softer side. Garnett followed up the next summer, too, seeking out Wade in Miami to offer his guidance and support. Countless young players have been mentored by Garnett over the last 20 years. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat guard, present: I was a young kid.
But he believed in me at that time. He wasn't my teammate. I didn't even know him that much. So that confidence from a guy like that, man, just went a long way. It's coming from a place of success, a place of — you know I want you to do well, because I've done it all. I always remember that. That just gave me trust in everything he told me, that it wasn't for anything but my betterment.
Doc Rivers: He tries to teach the young guys professionalism first — not basketball. He'd bring them in and get them all wired up and buy two or three suits for them, so they're dressed right. He told them, "If you're coming to work, you're coming in a suit and tie.
You come to go to work. You had him doing it. The ultimate Kevin Garnett quirk? He refuses to accept the fact that makes him so unique: that he's a 7-footer with the skills of a guard.
Since his first day in the NBA, Garnett has insisted—to every coach, trainer and public-relations official—that he be listed as 6',11". Sam Mitchell: Oh, he'd get mad. He never wanted to be 7-foot.
I think he always felt like if you list him at 7-feet, you'd put him at center. He never really wanted to play center. Flip Saunders: He doesn't like labels. He didn't want to be labeled a center. So I used to call him 6-foot, because he's really 7'1". The Nets hired Nash as their head coach last week despite his only experience being as a special assistant for the Golden State Warriors , a part-time role.
Nash admitted to reporters earlier this week that he "skipped the line" because of his playing career and has benefited from white privilege in his life.
But I definitely realize that I need support. I'm going to hopefully bring a lot of qualities and skills to the table that are unique and strong, but I'm going to need support and a collaborative staff that has a lot of experience and is willing to build this with me.
Garnett, who played a season-and-a-half in Brooklyn, said he believes in Nash's basketball mind and thinks his try as a coach will be a success. Duncan probably has another season or maybe two as an All-Star-level player as he ages gracefully at Fittingly, his closest comparison at the same age is former teammate David Robinson , who made his last All-Star team at 36 and started on a championship team at age 38 before retiring. Presumably, Duncan will join his predecessor in retiring as a lifelong member of the Spurs.
In the unlikely event he looks elsewhere, his game and temperament would be a perfect veteran complement to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder won't have cap room in but could offer some young prospects to San Antonio as part of a sign-and-trade deal.
It's rare that players can turn back the clock in their mids and bounce back after battling injury, but that's just what Garnett did last season. When Garnett's athleticism waned late in the campaign, it seemed we might have seen the last of him playing at an elite level, but he looked healthier and more explosive from the start of Defensively, Garnett remains as valuable as any player besides Dwight Howard.
According to Synergy Sports' tracking, Garnett was the league's most effective defender against the pick-and-roll. No defender in the league is capable of helping his team in more ways than Garnett, who blocks shots, racks up steals and is strong on the defensive glass. On offense, Garnett has become mostly a pick-and-pop player, which means he rarely draws fouls or comes up with offensive boards, but his efficiency remains strong on the strength of making Last season, 14 players rated as more effective than Garnett on a per-minute basis.
As with Duncan, limited minutes cut slightly into his value, as does a history of injuries. He missed 11 games last season. Garnett's projections are more pessimistic than Duncan's. Players similar to him tended to drop off at age 36, which Garnett will reach in However, few of them were as effective defensively as Garnett. The exception is Hakeem Olajuwon , who had a strong season at 38 before fading. On a short-term deal, Garnett should be a worthwhile risk.
Because Boston might be set to rebuild if ends poorly, Garnett could be on the move. His game would work well most anywhere. What's more difficult is finding a scenario that might make sense for him. If Garnett's primary goal is adding a championship ring, he could sacrifice pay and team up with the Miami Heat 's Big Three, but that prospect seems almost unthinkable.
A more intriguing possibility is for Garnett to reunite with former Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau in Chicago if Carlos Boozer wears out his welcome and could be moved in a trade.
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