Eight years ago
today, the Boston Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett, who played six seasons for
the green and white. We knew Garnett was going to give Paul Pierce a desperately-needed
star sidekick—The Truth’s best teammate for the first nine years of his career was
Antoine Walker—but we had no idea just how quickly The Big Ticket would change the
culture of the Celtics. Six playoff appearances, five Atlantic Division titles, three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, two Finals appearances and an NBA
championship (2008) highlighted Garnett's tenure in Boston. He won Defensive Player of the
Year in his first season with the team, helping the Celtics capture their first
championship in 22 years.
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| Kevin Garnett was the anchor of the Celtics' defense for six seasons. (Getty Images) |
The Celtics were unable to win another title
mainly because of two cruel twists of fate. The Celtics began their title
defense 27-2—an all-time record to start a season—but saw their title hopes dissolve
when Garnett suffered a season-ending knee injury. The following year starting center Kendrick
Perkins tore his ACL in Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, a series the Celtics
eventually lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston got pounded on the glass in the
infamous, gut-wrenching Game 7 four-point loss in Los Angeles. Even with some
heartbreaking losses—including the defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat in
Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012—Celtics fans can look back on the Garnett-era in Boston with nothing but smiles. Boston will always cherish the day the Celtics acquired Garnett.
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