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The Boston Celtics last won the NBA championship back in 2008 in Kevin Garnett’s first year with the team. Boston sent five players and two first-round picks to Minnesota to acquire the “Big Ticket.”
On the "KG Certified" podcast, Garnett opened up to former teammate Paul Pierce about his emotions on his first day in Boston after the trade:
“As soon as we got the deal done, boom, I was in Boston! I saw a different 'P.' You [Paul Pierce] was already locked in. When we got together, it was instant coffee!
“We was finishing each other’s sentences. … That was one of the rare moments that I can say that it was pure magic for me.”
He continued:
“We were sitting in the room and it was just all basketball talking. It was just refreshing to be around inclined minds that had a different view. It was beautiful.
“I was so inspired that I wasn’t thinking about anything other than the season opener and how I want to be body-wise, and mentally. Everything was falling into a different square for me.”
Before the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett, they had the second-worst record (24-58) in the NBA. Paul Pierce, the team’s young superstar, was disillusioned with the way the front office led by Danny Ainge was building the team. After years of inconsistent winning, “The Truth” wanted the roster fixed or would have demanded a trade.
The ultimatum forced Ainge’s hand during the 2007 NBA draft. Boston, who had the second-best odds to land the No. 1 pick, fell to number 5. Ainge drafted Jeff Green and then packaged him along with Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and a second-round pick to the Seattle Supersonics for Ray Allen.
“Trader Dan” wasn’t done yet. Kevin Garnett recalled the behind-the-scenes events leading up to his deal with the Boston Celtics:
“When Danny [Ainge] came to Malibu, he met me. I was real straight to the point, there was no bunch of laughing. I was getting right to it. … When he left, I knew probably like 99.95% that I was coming to Boston.”
Boston sent Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and two first-round picks to Minnesota to get Kevin Garnett. It was the largest deal in NBA history for any player at the time.
The Celtics now had a "Big 3" of Garnett, Allen and Pierce.
The Boston Celtics surged to the biggest turnaround in NBA history with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen
Before the Boston Celtics formed their "Big 3," they put up a horrific 24-58 record during the 2006-07 season.
With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen leading the way, they finished the following season with an NBA-best 66-16 card. They were seven games above the second-best Detroit Pistons.
The Celtics, though, weren’t content with what they had achieved. They had a far bigger prize on their minds.
More than two decades after Larry Bird led the Boston Celtics to the 1986 NBA championship, Boston was back on top of the NBA in 2008.
The magical feeling Garnett felt on his first day as a Celtic carried over to the end of the season. The “Big Ticket” won his first and only championship in an emotional series after beating their heated rivals, the LA Lakers, in the finals.
Guess the Lakers players!
