Kevin Garnett will become the 24th player in Boston Celtics history to see his number retired on March 13, when the team hosts the Dallas Mavericks at the 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 an exchange in 2007, along with Ray Allen, saw the Celtics form a Big 3 alongside his Hall of Fame teammate Paul Pierce. They led the Celtics to that 2008 title 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Boston had originally made a surprise announcement at halftime of a game between the Celtics and LA Clippers in Boston on February 13, 2020 that Garnett’s No. 5 jersey would be withdrawn at a later date.
“I feel honored and grateful that my number has retired with the Celtics,” Garnett said in a statement at the time. “I will always have immense respect and love for the property, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, my former teammates and Celtic Nation!”
However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that closed the NBA a month later and caused virtually all of last season to be played without fans, there was no chance of celebrating Garnett in Boston from the way the Celtics would like, with TD Garden full of fans celebrating.
Now, however, that opportunity will come in March, and with a twist, as Garnett’s former Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd is now coaching 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 2020 Class, and will be Pierce’s presenter when he is included later this year.