Minnesota Timberwolves, you are now on the clock.
Safe to say that the Brooklyn Nets won't be retiring the number 2 jersey of Kevin Garnett that he wore there from 2013-2015, so after last night's news that the Celtics will retire KG's number 5 next season, the fact that the Timberwolves - a team that Garnett grew up with, was an MVP with and led to a Western Conference Finals (2004) - have yet to do the same continues to mystify.
For Boston though, there aren't many more deserving of the honor than Garnett, who was the main source behind an overnight culture shift with the Celtics, going from basement dwellers (24 wins in 2007, the season prior to Garnett's arrival) to penthouse owners and champagne drinkers (66 wins and a championship in 2008) after he arrived on scene in July of 2007 along with Ray Allen to provide Paul Pierce with big time reinforcements. He spent his formative years in Minnesota, carving out a Hall of Fame career that included that '04 MVP award when he was a primal force, the rare player who could play all five positions if need be, and whose imprint was left all over the court and in the box score. When he got to Boston, his role shifted from a guy who took 18 shots per game to a guy who took 14, from a guy who had to carry the burden every night to a guy who didn't have to carry the burden every night on the scoring end. He became, though, the defensive anchor (he'd be named Defensive Player of the Year for that 2007-2008 title year), who still had the capabilities to put up 20 and 10 when he wanted (he averaged 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds, finishing 3rd in Most Valuable Player voting behind Chris Paul (2nd) and the winner Kobe Bryant). In the Game 6 demolition of the Lakers in that year's finals, he put up 26 points and 14 rebounds on 10/18 from the field.
After that first title year, a knee injury in February 2009 would render him never the same for the remainder of his career, even though he'd play in Boston through the 2013 season, which included a near second championship in 2010. From 2011-2013 - beginning when the team traded Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City and ending on draft night 2013 with the trade to Brooklyn - Garnett played a lot of Center for the team. In a 4-2 first round series loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, he averaged 13.7 rebounds per game, and, 36 years old at the time, became the oldest player since Dennis Rodman to have at least 17 rebounds in a playoff game (he had 17 in both Games 3 and 4, and 18 in Game 5).
For six seasons in Celtic green, the guy who was known for his unmatched intensity, energy, and constant motor gave everything he had to a fan base that appreciates a strong work ethic and dedication. He achored the league's top defense and helped lead them to a championship, and kept the competitive burning in Boston until he was traded from there. He was the energy and the heartbeat that kept them ticking.
Garnett will join Dennis Johnson (3), Bill Russell (6), JoJo White (10), Bob Cousy (14), Tom Heinsohn (15), Tom "Satch" Sanders (16), John Havlicek (17), Dave Cowens (18), Don Nelson (19), Bill Sharman (21), Ed McCauley (22), Frank Ramsey (23), Sam Jones (24), KC Jones (25), Cedric Maxwell (31), Kevin McHale (32), Larry Bird (33), Paul Pierce (34), Reggie Lewis (35), and Robert Parish (00), as numbers immortalized high at TD Garden, never to be worn again. He didn't spend all, or the majority of his career there like the others above did, but his impact left an indelible mark on one of the all-time iconic franchises in team sports.
Your move, Minnesota.
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