From 2007-2013, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were the faces of the Boston Celtics, leading the organization to its 17th NBA Championship in the 2008 season. Sunday, Jan. 26, the duo returned back to the TD Bank Garden in Boston for the first time since being traded to the Brooklyn Nets on June 28, 2013.
From when the two first stepped onto the court for warm-ups until the final buzzer, they received large ovations, tribute videos, chants, and complete gratefulness from the fans for their time in Boston.
“It was tougher than any championship game,” Garnett told ESPN after the game. “Tougher than any game seven. This game was just so hard to really just focus and concentrate on what was at hand.”
To say there were distractions for the duo throughout the game would be an understatement. With the tribute video, playing against former teammates and friends, and having family in the stands, the game was an emotional roller coaster for Garnett and Pierce.
Was this reception for the duo a tad over the top? Not in the slightest. Pierce played his first 15 seasons with the Celtics, is the second all-time scoring leader in franchise history and brought a championship to the franchise. Kevin Garnett came to the team in 2007 from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and had an excellent six years in Boston, also helping to bring a championship to the franchise.
The championship team was legitimized with the combination of the Big 3: Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen. In their first season together, they captured the NBA Championship, and returned to the Finals two years later.
But, the Big 3’s dynasty in Boston was short lived. In 2012, Allen declined a contract extension with the Celtics and signed with the Miami Heat, disbanding the trio. Unlike the return of Pierce and Garnett, Allen’s return to Boston was far from welcoming. He was greeted last season in the TD Bank Garden with obscenities and boos, quite different than the reception that Pierce and Garnett received on Sunday.
Contrary to Allen personally deciding to leave the Celtics, Pierce and Garnett had no control over the situation, and therefore received a much more grateful reception than their former teammate.
Throughout Sunday’s game, friendly exchanges were captured between Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo, the former teammates whom had great success in the league. In a post-game interview, Pierce even admitted that the three had dinner the night before the game. He later went on to comment that how close the relationship had been between the three of them, and the pleasure it was for the trio to catch up.
As for the game, Garnett and Pierce played a small role in Brooklyn’s victory over Boston. Pierce finished with six points, while Garnett had six points and three rebounds.
But, the sold-out crowd in the TD Bank Garden on Sunday knew that the day was much larger than the game. It was about welcoming home members of the Celtics family.
“I think we will always bleed green, as long as we’re playing basketball,” Garnett told ESPN. “As long as we’re living, even when they bury us six feet under, it’s what it’s going to be.”