Kevin Garnett left the Boston Celtics as one of their greatest ever players, helping them win a championship in 2008 by beating their eternal rivals LA Lakers.
He came into the league straight from high school and made an instant impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even after his retirement, Garnett is still one of the best players the franchise has ever seen.
Kevin Garnett had an MVP award and all the individual accolades during his time with the T-Wolves, but he always wanted to win a championship.
However, the franchise could not add the players to help him out, and eventually, in 2007, Garnett made his way out of the team.
There were multiple teams interested in acquiring the services of Garnett, but the Boston Celtics came out on top.
After a few years, the Hall of Famer revealed he was close to joining the Celtics’ biggest rival, but something led him to change his decision.
Photo by Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty ImagesGarnett wanted to go to the LA Lakers
Garnett and Kobe Bryant battled for decades in the NBA, but both had a lot of respect for each other.
After Garnett expressed his desire to move away from the T-Wolves, LA was his primary choice because he wanted to team up with Bryant.
The Black Mamba was playing some of his best basketball at that time, but the LA Lakers were struggling.
Photo by Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
Shaquille O’Neal’s departure left a big void in the team and they failed to make it past the first round between 2005-2007.
Adding Garnett would have been great for them, but the Celtics legend revealed on the Dan Patrick Show what him to decide against joining the Lakers.
He said: “I was pretty close, to be honest. What disturbed me about the whole Lakers situation was Kobe and Phil at the time. They were at each other pretty bad, and it was a new situation I didn’t want to get into. It was my choice. There was a lot going on and I didn’t want to be a part of it.”
Garnett thrived with the Celtics
Bryant’s relationship with Phil Jackson was on the verge of completely breaking down as the player was not happy with where the franchise was heading.
He even requested a trade and was close to joining the Chicago Bulls at that time, but he somehow stayed with the Lakers and started the 2007-08 season brilliantly.
The team then traded for Pau Gasol, who ended up being one of Bryant’s favorite teammates.
Garnett, on the other hand, moved to the Celtics team that was loaded with players like Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in 2007.
They dominated the Eastern Conference by winning 66 regular season games and made their way to the 2008 NBA Finals in Garnett’s very first season in Boston.
Matched up against them were Bryant and the Lakers, who they defeated 4-2 in the Finals to secure their 17th NBA championship.
Although the Black Mamba was able to take revenge in 2010 by beating Garnett and Co., ‘The Big Ticket’ will always be remembered for his time in Boston