Kevin Garnett’s number 5 now sits on the ceiling of TD Garden alongside all the other Celtics legends, with the club now having 24 retired numbers. The jersey retirement ceremony took place at the end of the meeting between Boston and Dallas, lost by the Massachusetts club.
But the atmosphere was not tarnished and the fans present, as well as the retiree, experienced a great moment of emotion.
A speech for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen present
It was Paul Pierce who brought the Larry O’Brien trophy to the center of the court, alongside a big number #5, later joined by many of his Celtics teammates, from James Posey to Kendrick Perkins to Eddie House and Ray Allen.
Kevin Garnett then presented himself in the center of the field, to the cheers of the crowd before sitting down to attend a first speech by historical commentator Mike Gorman, then relayed on the microphone by Paul Pierce, who thanked KG for bringing Celtics pride back into fashion. Many personalities including Jason Terry, Rajon Rondo, Doc Rivers, Bill Russell or even Isiah Thomas (both whistled) have in turn sent their congratulations via a clip.
Co-owner Wyc Grousbeck has launched a new clip, this time retracing the greatest moments of the “Big Ticket” under the tunic of the C’s. A video punctuated by this memorable “Anything is possible! yelled by KG just after the victory in the final in the 2008 playoffs against the Lakers.
“A magical epic”
Kevin Garnett took the microphone in turn to discuss his intensity, his professionalism or his arrival at the Celtics caused by Paul Pierce. He invited Ray Allen for a hug (joined by Paul Pierce for a collective hug), promising him that he would be the next to receive the same honor, and thanked all his teammates, almost one by one, before returning to his greatest accomplishment, the 2008 title.
“We had so much confidence in ourselves, I felt that only injuries could have stopped us. And if we hadn’t had any injuries afterwards, we probably would have won a few more rings.”did he declare. “In the playoffs, it was a magical epic. I remember so many memorable moments that accompanied our way to our victory in the final”.
Some mythical anecdotes were then exchanged between the two former teammates, on KG’s wrestling qualities, his musical tendencies or his difficulties against Matt Bonner’s Spurs. Kevin Garnett concluded the interview with a big “Beantown!” before proceeding to climb his jersey, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
