It’s easy to forget that Kevin Garnett didn’t always want to come to Boston.
Some words from Larry Bird helped convince him to change his mind.
In an interview Thursday, Garnett, whose number will be retired March 13, said Bird’s praise of Celtics fans made him realize Boston was a special place to play basketball.
“I heard Larry Bird say one time in his early years in Boston is that the reason why he loved playing in front of the fans in Boston is because you couldn’t fake them,” Garnett said, via MassLive. “You couldn’t fool the fans. They knew when you was playing hard. They knew when you were giving your all. They have a sense of basketball history and they have high basketball IQs. They cared and I never forgot that.”
Though Garnett only played six seasons in Boston, his impact on the Celtics was indelible. KG was the centerpiece of 2008 championship team, and instantly changed the culture.
Nowadays, the Hall of Famer says his only regret isn’t coming to Boston sooner. He shares a bond with Celtics fans to this day.
“I never wanted to come in and be cool, I didn’t want to be calm,” Garnett said. “I wanted to be under control, but I wanted to be electric. I wanted to win every game and I wanted everybody who I was playing against to know that. I guess the fans resonated with that and to this day, fans come up to me, they dap me, they express their appreciation for hard work and passion.”
Too bad we can’t teleport Garnett onto this year’s team. They could use him.