Boston Celtics: Should the organization retire Kevin Garnett’s number?
Paul Pierce recently had his jersey retired and now the focus has shifted to which player will get his jersey retired next. Will that someone be Kevin Garnett?
The Boston Celtics retired Paul Pierce‘s number on Feb. 11, and it was a heartfelt ceremony. Sadly, the Celtics lost did lose that day against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but other than that, the event was a memorable one.
Now that we’ve seen Pierce have his number retired, a lot of talk has been brewing up as to whether or not Kevin Garnett will be the next Celtic to have his jersey retired. The Celtics organization is arguably the greatest franchise in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Lakers of course giving the team a run for its money.
With all that being said, the team has to be wise as to whose number they’ll retire due to the teams long history of success. It would be a shock if the Celtics do not have a lot of success fpr decades down the road. Considering that and the amount of jerseys retired already, is it wise to retire Garnett’s number?
The Celtics have a total of 22 jerseys retired – the most in the NBA. There will undoubetdly be more. It won’t be anytime soon, but you’d imagine that eventually the team will run out of double-digit numbers. It’s best to think of everything before moving on to retiring one’s jersey. It’s an honor to have your jersey retired, so the decision shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Chris Forsberg, writer for ESPN, wrote that in the eyes of Paul Pierce, Garnett should be the next Celtic to have his jersey retired.
"“Without a doubt, KG’s number will be [the next one] retired in Boston,” said Pierce. “It’s going to happen.”"
There’s no doubt in my mind that Garnett is going to be in the Hall-of-Famer one day, but I don’t believe he should have his jersey retired with the Celtics. I’m from Minnesota, and a huge Minnesota Timberwolves fan, so I know and admire the player Garnett is. I loved being able to see the greatest Timberwolf of all time go and achieve his dream of winning a championship.
With that being said, his time in Boston was not long enough nor was it good enough to have his jersey retired.
His jersey will be retired with Minnesota eventually, but until then, I don’t know if he gets a second jersey retired. Garnett only played six seasons with the Celtics and his numbers were good, but they weren’t numbers that screamed “retire my jersey.”
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | 71 | 71 | 32.8 | 7.5 | 13.9 | .539 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .000 | 3.8 | 4.7 | .801 | 9.2 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 18.8 |
| 2008-09 | 57 | 57 | 31.1 | 6.9 | 13.0 | .531 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .250 | 1.9 | 2.3 | .841 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 15.8 |
| 2009-10 | 69 | 69 | 29.9 | 5.8 | 11.2 | .521 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .200 | 2.7 | 3.2 | .837 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 14.3 |
| 2010-11 | 71 | 71 | 31.3 | 6.1 | 11.6 | .528 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .200 | 2.6 | 3.1 | .862 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 14.9 |
| 2011-12 | 60 | 60 | 31.1 | 6.5 | 13.0 | .503 | 0.1 | 0.2 | .333 | 2.7 | 3.2 | .857 | 8.2 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 15.8 |
| 2012-13 | 68 | 68 | 29.7 | 6.2 | 12.5 | .496 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .125 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .786 | 7.8 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 14.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/14/2018.
His numbers were always going to fall a bit due to the Celtics having more talent than the Wolves did, but his age also had some to do with that. None of his stats are in the top-10 in any category except for defensive rebounds and blocks.
He’s a great player and will be in the Hall of fame, but his stats are not very high on the list of the all-time leaders and he only played six seasons for the Celtics.
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The Celtics have the most championships and retired jersey numbers in the NBA. Retiring a number means a great deal and given the Celtics’ success and future success, it doesn’t seem right to retire Garnett’s number given those aspects.