Kevin Garnett joined perhaps one of the most star-studded Hall of Fame classes in basketball history, joining Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan as the headliners of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class that was officially announced on Saturday.
Joining those legends will be Tamika Catchings, along with a number of legendary coaches including Eddie Sutton, Kim Mulkey, Barbara Stevens, Rudy Tomjanovich and former FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann.
Garnett enters the Hall of Fame a one-time MVP (2004), nine-time All-NBA first-team selection and a 15-time All-Star over his 21-year career. He spoke with former teammate Paul Pierce on ESPN after the official announcement was made about his election.
“You put countless hours into this. You dedicate yourself to a craft. You take no days off. You play through injury...This is the culmination,” Garnett said on ESPN Saturday. "All those hours of everything you’ve ever put up for it all, this is what you do it for right here. To be able to be called a Hall of Famer is everything."
Garnett later added: “I’m glad to be going in the class with Timmy, I’m very honored to be going in the class with the great Kobe Bryant, Tamika Catchings, others, this is the culmination for me, though. All the hard work, this is what you do it for.”
Garnett’s official enshrinement won’t come until September in Springfield, MA but with six of the most memorable seasons of his career coming in Boston, let’s take a walk down memory lane and remember the best of Kevin Garnett in Boston, featuring some of his top moments on and off the floor.
Dancing During Gino Time
No player in Celtics history has probably enjoyed the Celtics’ dancing victory cigar more at the end of games than the power forward. Garnett would gleefully dance with teammates to the American Bandstand video at the end of games during timeouts. During his last visit to the Garden as a Timberwolves to 2015, the Celtics fans chanted for him and cheered him on the Jumbotron as the song was played one final time with him as an active player in the building.
KGino Time pic.twitter.com/bUv6495UDW
— Kyle George (@kyoo) December 22, 2015
Enes Kanter spoke with local reporters on a conference call on Friday and gave his opinion on a couple key questions facing NBA players whenever play is cleared to resume:
On the need for a training camp: “You can’t just say OK, we’re going to play the game a week later. Some people are doing something, and some people are in their apartments not doing anything, so the NBA will put safety first, and I know the NBA will do a good job of that, too. I think we’ll need two to three weeks just to get back on the court, because people are in their apartments and not moving at all. We have to make sure everyone is doing their stuff and in great shape, so they can go out and compete. If you jump straight to playoffs, playoffs are like a war, where you have to give it everything you have, make sure everyone is 100 percent healthy, in game shape, and then we can compete.”
On returning without fans: “I don't know if it's going to be with the fans or without the fans but I'm thinking probably without the fans. We are competitors man, so we want to go out there and finish the season, especially like it's crazy -- we actually have a really good chance to go out there and win a championship. It's like you want to go out there and compete but I think when the season returns, like I said, it's player safety and fan safety first. I think it will be broadcasted on TV and played without the fans.”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was first to report that the NBA and ESPN are collaborating on a HORSE competition that would take place from each player’s home gym in the midst of the shelter in place. It’s better than nothing in a period with no sports but the last time the NBA rolled something out like this was 2010 when Rondo and Durant faced off in a Horse competition during All-Star weekend. The plug was pulled after just two years but hopefully so bigger stars will make it more entertaining.
- The Bulls are in the process of interviewing new top front-office executives during the stoppage in the wake of another disappointing year under the braintrust of Gar Forman and John Paxson.