The Big Ticket

It was eight years ago today that the Boston Celtics finished assembling one of the greater big threes by trading for Kevin Garnett with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Celtics have established an identity that is all about winning championships. No team has ever dominated a sport like the Celtics did in the 60’s with Bill Russell and Red Auerbach and then it was not long until one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, Larry Bird, had his run at championships.

Droughts are not something the Celtics are used to and when an all time great like Paul Pierce had to endure the worst drought in the history of the franchise, you knew something had to be done.

The Celtics knew they had the guy who could take their team to the promise land in Pierce but he could not do it by himself. The solution, adding the greatest teammate and a once in a generation type player, Kevin Garnett.

In today’s NBA its normal to see 7 footers stretching the floor and the current Celtics have an example of a 7 footer extending beyond the three point line in Kelly Olynyk. None of these players would be who they are today if it was not for Kevin Garnett.

Here’s what Greg Popovich, who has coached one of the only other power forwards who can contend with Garnett in Tim Duncan, had to say about Garnett when he entered the league.

"I think back then, you started to think about how big, how tall these guys were with those skills, and is that going to be the norm?” Popovich tells Beck. “Are we going to have more guys like this come along that can do that? That’s what I thought of when I first saw him. It was incredible"

Very few players can say they truly revolutionized the game and Garnett is not solely responsible but he redefined what it means to be a big in the NBA and even if the bulk of his career was with the Minnesota Timberwolves he was in a similar situation that Pierce was with the Celtics.

Everyone knew that Garnett and Pierce were franchise changing players that could always contend for a championship. The two of them just needed a little more help and after one of the greatest trades in the history of the Celtics an unstoppable force was assembled.

With Garnett anchoring the defense and Pierce leading the offense its no surprise that the Celtics won a championship the very first year the two of them were together.

Player of the Week #34 Paul Pierce

Pierce and Garnett is what finally allowed the Celtics to break the worst championship slump in the history of the franchise. They brought winning back to Boston and that’s not where Garnett’s impact stops.

Garnett will always be the most loved and the most hated player on the court. More so than any other player in the history of the NBA, Garnett was loathed by his opponents while being the best teammate in the world to his squad.

Garnett helped establish a rugged hard nosed mentality that will forever leave an imprint on Boston. Even in last year’s playoffs the scrappy, never back down mentality was in full force with both Kendrick Perkins and J.R Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers losing their cool.

Garnett managed to be the toughest guy on the court while not being the dirtiest guy on the court. He would antagonize, get inside your head and torment you in the paint, pushing you over the breaking point.

Garnett spent just five years with the Boston Celtics but it is one of the most impactful 5 year careers in the history of the NBA. Garnett redefined a position and he restored a franchise.

Even after the Big Ticket retires in Minnesote and is not wearing green for his hall of fme induction, he will always a have place in Celtics lore and in the hearts of the best fan base in the NBA.

Oh, and never forget:

Don’t feel bad if that still makes your eyes swell up, in fact, feel bad if it doesn’t.

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