The Boston Celtics surprised those in attendance for Thursday night’s game against the LA Clippers with an announcement.
The Celtics played a video at TD Garden saying that Kevin Garnett’s No. 5 jersey would be retired next season.
The #Celtics announce they're retiring @KevinGarnett5KG's No. 5 pic.twitter.com/hX0AROlO0D
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 14, 2020
Garnett played 21 seasons in the NBA, six with the Celtics. He and Ray Allen were acquired by Boston prior to the 2007-2008 season and joined Paul Pierce to form a Big Three that won 66 games and a championship in their first season together.
Boston made the playoffs in all six of KG’s seasons with the team, including the NBA Finals twice and conference finals a third time. He and Pierce were eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Celtics have a rich history as a franchise and have retired/honored 24 people. Pierce already had his jersey retired by the Celtics, so Garnett getting the honor next made sense. The question is whether Allen will be similarly honored considering he left the trio early to play for the rival Heat, which has sat poorly with some members of the team.
Interestingly, Garnett has not had his number retired by the Minnesota Timberwolves, for whom he played the majority of his career. The Timberwolves have said that is not because they haven’t tried to do so. Garnett just has a major issue with Minnesota’s owner, and that is likely at the heart of the matter.
