Kevin Garnett will become the 24th player in Boston Celtics history to see his retired number on March 13, when the team host the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden at 3:30 pm ET on ABC.
Garnett, who won the 2008 title with the Celtics, spent six seasons of his career in Boston. His acquisition through a trade in 2007, along with Ray Allen, saw the Celtics form a Big 3 alongside fellow Hall of Famer Paul Pierce. They led the Celtics to that title from 2008 and back to the NBA Finals again in 2010, when the Celtics lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston had originally made a surprise announcement at halftime of a game between the Celtics and LA Clippers in Boston on February 13, 2020 that Garnett’s No. 5 jersey would be retired at a later date.
“I am honored and grateful that my number has been retired with the Celtics,” Garnett said in a statement at the time. “I will always have immense respect and appreciation for the property, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, my former teammates and the Celtic Nation!”
However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the NBA a month later and causing virtually the entire past season to be played without fans, there was never a chance to celebrate Garnett in Boston the way the Celtics would want. , with TD Garden packed with fans celebrating.
Now, though, that opportunity will come in March, and with a twist, as Garnett’s former coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Jason Kidd, is now training in Dallas after being hired earlier this offseason.
Garnett was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan in the Class of 2020, and will host Pierce when he is inducted later this year.
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