Boston Celtics: Team awards for each season of the 2010s

2011-12 Awards

Defensive Player: Kevin Garnett

It feels like a cheat to put the same player for back to back seasons, but while looking at the stats, no other player really deserves this honor other than the Big Ticket.

In the second season of the 2010s, Garnett’s stats actually improved slightly. His steals were at .9 per game, he had a flat 1 block per contest, and he pulled down more rebounds (8.2).

It is crazy to imagine Garnett improving upon his stats as he got older, regardless of how little the improvement was. He showed no drop-off, and his energy certainly did not diminish.

His defensive rating was even better as well, sitting at a solid 95.3. All of these solid numbers, coming from a 36-year-old.

Of course, LeBron James makes it look easy at an old age, but Garnett was doing this before players had any load management.

Something tells me Garnett wouldn’t take any days off in the current NBA if given a chance, either.

Fan Favorite: Kevin Garnett

No, choosing Kevin Garnett twice doesn’t mean he’s the only notable player from that season.

It just so happens that he was a fan favorite in this season. To clarify, he was a fan favorite of Boston Celtics fans during every one of his seasons in Beantown.

The options were just slim for this season as to who the fans loved dearly. The choice came down to Kevin Garnett and uhh… Brandon Bass. Ideally, more fans probably loved KG more than Bass (no offense Brandon).

Kevin Garnett, at 36 years old, played in 60 of 82 games and built on most of his numbers from the previous season. He played in 11 fewer games, as well.

Long story short, the energy that he brought, as I’ve mentioned before, was crazy for a player his age. Fans were able to feed off of that energy most of the time, which resulted in some electric moments at TD Garden. Therefore, his contagious passion for the game ranks him ahead of Mr. Bass.

MVP: Kevin Garnett

Ok, maybe I should give this season a fourth award, like best point guard. Therefore, Garnett will not have the chance to go for the clean sweep.

But here we are, and Garnett has gone 3-for-3 in this season’s awards.

This explanation will be fairly short, as most of what applies has already been shared.

In a more general sense, he was able to improve on his numbers, played in the same amount of minutes, and had generally the same impact he had in years prior. All that while being in the backend of his career.

To add to his case, he helped lead the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals, a series in which the C’s took the powerhouse Miami Heat to seven games.

KG’s legacy will always be remembered in Boston, and his jersey will look real nice in the rafters next season.