Miscellaneous

Marc D'Amico

Let me tell you a little something about Marcus Smart.

That dude is one of the best people to walk through Boston’s doors. Ever.

He’s a hustler. A leader. A blue-collared, mean-muggin’ dog who fears absolutely no one.

He’s a philanthropist. A community beacon. A man who truly moves the needle for children around the country, and in particular, those who are suffering from pediatric cancer.

He is a Boston Celtic through and through, and that’s never going to change, regardless of what jersey he'll be wearing next season.

Smart was traded to Memphis during the early hours of Friday morning as part of a three-team deal that brought former All-Star Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. The move came as a shock to many, simply because Smart has been synonymous with the Celtics for nearly a decade.

Smart arrived in Boston back in 2014, as he recently explained in an Instagram post, as “a naïve kid from Dallas not really knowing what to expect.” What he and the Celtics did know at that time was that he possessed loads of promise both on and off the basketball court. It was just a matter of how much of that promise would be fulfilled.

Nine years later, it’s safe to say that the Celtics and the city of Boston couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.

Smart departs the only professional organization and city he has ever known as a former Defensive Player of the Year, as a former de facto Celtics captain, and as an overpowering presence in Boston’s community.

Truthfully, he surpassed all hopes and expectations that came along with him back in 2014. He made an overwhelming impact on every level, and for that, Celtics Nation is incredibly grateful. I am incredibly grateful. His presence will be sorely missed.

The basketball resume he put together in Boston speaks – no, screams – for itself. Smart made the NBA playoffs during each of his nine seasons with the team, including five trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and one trip to the NBA Finals. The team had a positive net rating with him on the floor during every season of his career, a remarkable statistic given the fact that Boston went 25-57 the season before he arrived, and 40-42 during his first season.

Along the way, he helped the Celtics and their fan base log memory after memory of success. He is a key piece of the puzzle that turned the team from a rebuilding project into a contender in the blink of an eye.

Smart also departs the Celtics ranking fourth in franchise history in 3-pointers made, third in steals, and 11th in assists, all while making three All-Defensive First Teams.

Smart’s effort off the court rivaled, and somehow may have even surpassed, his effort on the court. He was constantly out in the community, appearing at countless Celtics events while also growing the roots of his own foundation right here in Boston. One of the most exciting days of the calendar was always when Smart would visit a local children’s hospital to lift the spirits of young patients.

It just doesn’t get any better than those smiles that he brought to those faces.

It must also be mentioned that throughout his tenure, Smart always made himself available to the general media – and in particular, to us at Celtics.com. Want to bring him on the podcast? Done. Need him for a pregame interview? He’s in. Want to write a story on him that requires interviews with his family and friends? He’s got you covered with their contact info.

Some of this might sound a bit bland, but in the world of the NBA, this type of access and humility doesn’t always exist. People like Marcus Smart don’t always exist. The fact that he was here and giving his all, in this way, for this long, can't be taken for granted.

As Smart said the other day, goodbyes are hard. It’s difficult to say goodbye to a player and person who had woven himself so deeply into the fabric of this organization over the past nine years. But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end - especially in this league, when the Celtics are one of 30 teams that spend every day trying to get better.

Smart wasn’t always perfect, but he really was the perfect Celtic. He’ll always be revered in this city. He'll always be known as a Boston Celtic.

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In Love and Trust: An Ode to Marcus Smart

Taylor Snow

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Marcus Smart added to his rapidly growing hardware collection Monday afternoon, as he was named the recipient of the 2021-22 NBA Hustle Award.

It marks the third significant honor that Smart has received this season, after also being named Defensive Player of the Year and being selected for the All-Defensive First Team. He’s the first player to win this specific award multiple times, previously earning it in 2018-19.

The Hustle Award award goes hand-in-hand with Smart’s defensive accolades, given that his relentless grit is what makes him such a unique and effective defender.

Smart had his name all over the hustle stat leaderboards this past regular season. He was fourth in loose balls recovered (75), 10th in charges drawn (12), and already has a league-leading eight charges drawn in 12 playoff games. During the regular season, he also ranked 10th in deflections (206) and was No. 1 among all guards in boxouts (104).

Hustle is the ultimate measure of heart, and to understand how much heart Smart gives to the game, look no further than the third quarter of Game 3 against the Miami Heat Saturday night. He suffered a bad ankle sprain only to return a few minutes later to knock down a 3-pointer and then draw a charge on the other end. He puts his body on the line every game, unafraid of the consequential nicks and bruises he may suffer and willing to play through just about any type of pain for his team.

Smart’s tenacity has a contagious effect on the rest of his teammates, which helped Boston establish itself as the top defense in the NBA this season.

"A lot of my defensive grit and my will to fight out there I get from just watching him,” said Rob Williams, who joined Smart on the All-Defensive squad as a Second Team selection. “Even in practice, him being vocal. On the court, he’s a great defensive anchor for us, but he’s a better leader … He’s always talking, putting guys where they need to be.”

Knowing where he needs to be on the court at all times is what has helped Smart succeed in so many hustle categories. He has an incredibly high defensive IQ, and coupling that with his fearless drive has turned him into a hustle machine.

To see him finally get recognized for all of his hard work has been gratifying for both Smart and his teammates.

“He’s been guarding his butt off since he’s been in this league and now he’s got the acknowledgment,” Grant Williams said in April after Smart became the first guard to win DPOY since Gary Payton in 1995-96. “It’s great to celebrate your teammate for all the hard work, all the effort you’ve watched him put in from day one. I’ve learned so much from Marcus, how to compete in everything on that side of the ball, how he changes the game.”

Much like Stephen Curry is a game-changer as a shooter, or Chris Paul as a playmaker, Smart changes the game with his defense and hustle. There’s no one else quite like him in the NBA from that standpoint, and he now has several pieces of hardware to prove it.

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Smart Becomes NBA’s First Two-Time Hustle Award Winner

BOSTON – When Marcus Smart entered the Auerbach Center gym Monday afternoon, his teammates were waiting for him with a surprise gift – a gift that hadn’t been received by an NBA guard in nearly three decades: the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year trophy.

Smart became the first perimeter player to earn the recognition since Gary Payton in 1995-96 and fittingly, the Hall-of-Fame point guard and former Celtic was on hand to present the trophy.

As soon as Payton announced the reason for his presence, Smart was engulfed by his water cup-welding teammates and doused in a celebratory shower – an appropriate way to end such a long drought.

“First off, I definitely want to thank you guys: my coaching staff, teammates,” Smart addressed his peers after drying himself off and taking hold of the basketball-shaped, glass hardware. “It’s not easy playing in this league full of guys like Jayson and Jaylen who score the m************ ball the way they do and getting the recognition on that defensive end, trying to guard those guys every night. This is eight years, man, just trying to do what I do. You guys allowed me to do that.”

Over eight seasons, Smart has put a lifetime of effort into his play on the defensive end. He guards the best perimeter scorers on a regular basis and consistently finds ways to reduce their effectiveness. He’s constantly hustling, diving for loose balls, deflecting passes, taking charges, fighting through screens – doing all the dirty work and little things that contribute to winning.

The NBA hadn’t rewarded a player of his type in many years, largely because perimeter defenders don’t typically stack up with interior defenders from a statistical standpoint, such as in the rebounding and shot-blocking categories.

“It’s understandable why it was such a big man award,” reflected Smart, the second DPOY in Celtics history along with Kevin Garnett in 2007-08. “They do so much in helping their team on that end. We give so much credit to the big men. But those guards, they’ve been working, we’re the front line; you have to get past us first, and that’s how us guards feel.

"To be able to be named the Defensive Player of the Year and be the first guard since Gary Payton in 1996 to win this, it just shows that it can be done. The way the game is changing, the guards have been more recognized for their ability to do certain things we shouldn’t be able to do at our size, and this award and me winning it opens the path for guards in the future.”

Over the past few seasons, Smart has gained an increasing number of supporters, such as Payton, who recognize his value.

“You’re a guy,” Payton told Smart before handing over the trophy, “that reminds me of myself. Everybody asks me about it all the time and it’s you. You play that ‘D’ the way you’re supposed to. You play it with a chip on your shoulder and some heart.”

Enough heart to finally overcome the statistical barriers that stood both in his way and in the way of every other perimeter defender over the past three decades. Though, that’s not to say that Smart didn’t put up any impressive numbers. He still ranked sixth in steals, fourth in loose balls recovered, and first in deflections per game.

However, what he did beyond the numbers was far more important. Smart is the vocal leader of Boston’s defense, a coach on the floor. He directs his teammates and helps them to become better defenders and his constant communication is what led the Celtics to earn the best defensive rating in the NBA.

Rob Williams, one of the most improved defenders in the league, can vouch for that.

"A lot of my defensive grit and my will to fight out there I get from just watching him,” said Williams, who finished seventh in the voting for DPOY. “Even in practice, him being vocal. On the court, he’s a great defensive anchor for us, but he’s a better leader. And he doesn’t even know it. He’s always talking, putting guys where they need to be.”

As a result, Smart finds himself exactly where he’s meant to be: at the top of the podium, owning the most prestigious defensive honor.

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Smart Earns DPOY, Ends 26-Year Drought for Guards

For the second time in franchise history, the Boston Celtics have a back-to-back winner for Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.

The NBA announced Ime Udoka as its latest recipient Tuesday afternoon for games played in March and April, during which the Celtics compiled a league-best 15-4 record.

It marked Udoka’s second straight month winning the award, making him just the second coach in Celtics history, along with Doc Rivers in 2008-09 and 2009-10, to earn it multiple times in the same season. Of course, that also means that Udoka is the only first-year Celtics head coach to accomplish such a feat.

Rivers, like Udoka, won it twice in a row to close out the 2007-08 regular season before embarking on a championship run.

Udoka is the first Eastern Conference coach to earn the recognition in back-to-back months since Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer did so in December 2018 and January 2019. Budenholzer went on to win NBA Coach of the Year following that season.

When Udoka won in February, the team’s main accomplishments occurred on the defensive end. However, for March/April, their most notable achievements happened on the offensive end, as they posted the best offensive rating in the entire league during that span at 123.4.

Since March 1, the Celtics ranked second in the East in points per game (120.4), assists per game (28.2), and field-goal percentage (50.4 percent), while also logging the East’s third-best clip from 3-point range (39.6 percent). In terms of advanced shooting stats, the C’s ranked first in the league in both effective field goal percentage (59.2 percent) and true shooting percentage (62.4 percent).

As for their defense, the Celtics continued where they left off in February. Since the start of March, they posted the second-best defensive rating in the NBA at 109.4. Combining that with their offensive rating gave them a phenomenal net rating of 14.0. No other team in the NBA had better than an 8.1 net rating during that same span.

The numbers are even more remarkable when taking into consideration how the season started for the Celtics. Through the first half of the season, Boston had posted a sub-.500 record at 20-21. Udoka then guided the team to one of its greatest mid-season turnarounds in history, as it recorded a second-half record of 31-10.

Boston went all the way from 11th place on Jan. 16 to finish in second place with a 51-31 record. Udoka became just the third rookie Celtics head coach to win 50 games, joining Bill Russell and Chris Ford.

“He's been amazing,” third-year forward Grant Williams said of Udoka at the beginning of March. “He's challenged us. He's been a guy that holds us to a higher standard. He hasn't allowed us to slip or dip in anything whether it's defensive intensity – he’ll call a timeout and speak his spiel and let us know exactly what we're doing and let us have it, and we'll bounce back and respond. So it's tremendous that we've grown the relationships, I feel like, over the course of the year.

"With a new coach, you always have to adjust to knowing the system. It was a bumpy start, but I feel like we're getting into the flow of things and just trusting great leadership from him and the rest of the coaching staff.”

Finishing in the manner that he did, in his first season as a head coach, nonetheless, makes Udoka’s 2021-22 journey one of the most fascinating storylines in the NBA. It may also help him earn an even more substantial coaching honor in the near future, as he has made one of the strongest, if not the strongest, cases for Coach of the Year.

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Udoka COTY Case Made Stronger in Winning Back-to-Back COTMs

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Friday marks the final of seven Decade Nights that the Boston Celtics will be hosting at TD Garden this season in celebration of theirs and the NBA’s 75th anniversary.

So far, the team has already commemorated the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s, and 2010s. Finally, TD Garden will be turning back the clock to the 1990s when the C’s host the Indiana Pacers for their penultimate home game of the regular season.

Throughout the game, fans will be taken back in time to relive some of the Celtics’ most memorable moments from the ‘90s, many of which we have included in our decade recap below.

Feb. 9, 1991 – Brown Crowned Slam Dunk Champ

In the spring of 1990, the Celtics selected high-flying point guard Dee Brown with the 19th overall pick in the NBA Draft. He went on to play all 82 games the following season, averaging 8.7 points, 4.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game, which earned him a spot on the All-Rookie Team.

However, his most memorable achievement took place during the 1991 All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, where he became the first Celtics player to take home the Slam Dunk title.

The 6-foot-1 athletic specimen threw down seven soaring slams across three rounds, never scoring below a 44 out of 50. Five of those dunks scored above 48, including his highest mark of 49.6, which he achieved both on his first dunk of the second round and his final dunk of the competition.

That final dunk was one of the most renowned slams in the contest’s history, as Brown soared through the middle of the paint while shielding his eyes inside the crook of his elbow before flushing it through the net. Gerald Green would later pay homage to the dunk while wearing Brown’s jersey at the 2006 Slam Dunk Contest, which helped him take home the second such title in franchise history.

May 5, 1991 – Bird Breaks Cheekbone Before Lifting C’s into East Semis

Of all the injuries that Larry Bird shook off during his time with the Celtics, there was no greater display of toughness than when he played through a freshly-broken cheekbone in a deciding Game 5 of the 1991 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Indiana.

With the series tied 2-2, Boston was dealt what appeared to be a potential season-ending blow. With just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Bird fell and slammed his face on the hardwood and had to be escorted back to the locker room.

"When I hit the floor, I thought I broke my jaw because I couldn't move my mouth," Bird later recalled. "I was in a lot of pain, but I could hear the crowd out there and I thought, 'I can't leave those guys out there all by themselves.'"

Sure enough, Bird emerged from the tunnel partway through the third quarter to a roaring ovation. Boston was trailing by three points late in the period before their wounded warrior helped to kickstart a 32-13 run. Indiana would storm back late in the game to cut its deficit down to three, but Bird’s heroic 32-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist performance was too much to overcome, as the Celtics escaped into the conference semis with a 124-121 win.

March 15, 1992 – Bird Logs C’s Highest-Scoring Triple-Double

Just two months shy of his retirement, Larry Bird turned in perhaps the most impressive well-rounded game of his career, which also happened to be the highest-scoring triple-double in franchise history.

While hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on March 15, 1992, Bird recorded a 49-point, 14, rebound, 12-assist, four-steal performance, while leading Boston to a 152-148 win in double-overtime.

Bird’s most impressive achievement of the night may have been the fact that he played 54 out of a possible 58 minutes despite being 35 years old and dealing with chronic back pain. But on this night, Larry Legend looked like his old youthful self, as he became just the fifth player in NBA history to log a triple-double while scoring at least 49 points.

Spring 1995 – Boston Garden Closes its Doors

The early-to-mid ‘90s marked the end of a Celtics era in more ways than one.

It marked the end of the original Big 3 era, as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale retired in 1992 and 1993 respectively, before Robert Parish left via free agency in 1994. And it also marked the end of the Boston Garden era, as the legendary arena closed its doors for the final time following the 1994-95 season.

The Celtics finished their final campaign inside their old arena with a 35-47 regular-season record before being swept out of the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic. The next fall, Boston opened the brand-new FleetCenter arena, which later became TD Garden.

Jan. 7, 1998 – Walker Scores Career-High 49

The Celtics struggled through the mid-1990s following the Big 3’s disbanding and the tragic death of rising star Reggie Lewis. However, they still had some exciting youngsters that helped to get them through their rebuilding years, including Antoine Walker.

Boston drafted Walker with the sixth pick of the 1996 Draft, and he went on to make the All-Rookie Team after averaging 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game as a 20-year-old.

In his second season, he became the youngest All-Star in franchise history, and in the middle of that campaign, he turned in the best game of his career. While taking on the Washington Wizards on Jan. 7, 1998, the 21-year-old erupted for 49 points on 21-of-36 shooting, including a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range. He became just the fourth player in franchise history to reach such a total in the scoring column, joining Larry Bird, Sam Jones, and Kevin McHale. And he was by far the youngest of the group to do so.

Walker would go on to average 20.6 points per game across eight seasons for the Celtics, earning three All-Star nods along the way.

June 24, 1998 – Celtics Discover The Truth

Walker found his partner in crime during the spring of 1998, when the Celtics selected Paul Pierce with the 10th overall pick of the Draft. The selection turned out to be one of the most pivotal decisions in franchise history, as Pierce would turn into one of the team’s greatest legends of all time.

In his first season, Pierce averaged 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, which earned him an All-Rookie Team selection. That would set the tone for a 15-year tenure with the club, which included 10 All-Star appearances.

Although he and Walker didn’t experience much success at the tail-end of the ‘90s, they would soon rise up and help the Celtics return to relevancy, leading them on a couple of deep playoff runs in the early 2000s. As he emerged into stardom, Pierce earned his renowned nickname, “The Truth,” coined by Shaquille O’Neal.

Eventually, Pierce would help lure Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston in the summer of 2007, helping the Celtics to form a new Big 3, which would go on to win a championship the following season.

The Hall-of-Fame forward would finish his Celtics career as the second all-time leading scorer behind John Havlicek and was one of three players to finish among the top 10 in career points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks along with Larry Bird and Dave Cowens.

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Celtics Decade Night: Recapping the 1990s

Jayson Tatum made franchise history Monday afternoon, as he became the first Boston Celtics player to win back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards. He also became just the second player in NBA history to win the award three times in the same month, joining LeBron James, who accomplished the feat in January of 2012.

Tatum continued his excellent month by averaging 32.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks over a span of three games from March 21 to March 27, each of which resulted in a win for the Celtics.

During those matchups against Oklahoma City, Utah, and Minnesota, the 24-year-old shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field, 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from 3-point range, and 100 percent (17-of-17) from the free throw line.

It marked the fourth time this season in which Tatum has earned the award, tying Larry Bird’s mark for most wins in the same season.

Now, let’s take a look back at the performances that allowed Tatum to stand out among the crowd, yet again.

Tatum’s best game of the week came right off the bat, as he and the Celtics concluded a four-game sweep out West. During the final game of the trip in Oklahoma City, JT dropped 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, while also connecting on a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, as Boston struck down the Thunder, 132-123. Apart from it being his best scoring game, Tatum also logged week-highs of seven rebounds and two steals to go along with six assists and a block, showing no sign of fatigue despite playing 39 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back.

Even though it was his lowest-scoring game of the week, Wednesday night’s effort against the Utah Jazz was still the most efficient game of Jayson Tatum’s week. He logged 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, while also notching three rebounds and three assists. The only reason why Tatum didn’t reach 30 in the scoring column was that the Celtics dominated the Jazz so excessively that they only needed their star wing for 29 minutes of a 125-97 win at TD Garden.

Tatum capped off his week with another mid-30s effort in the scoring column, as he dropped 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. Tatum also grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists, and logged one apiece in the steal and block departments. His most impressive stat was being a game-best plus-34 during just under 34 minutes of action, which brought his weekly total up to a plus-62 in 101 total minutes. It also marked the fifth straight game in which Tatum knocked down at least five 3-pointers, which is the longest such streak in franchise history, and one that remains ongoing.

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Tatum Makes History with Latest Player of the Week Award

Jayson Tatum has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this month.

The NBA announced his recognition Monday afternoon following a week during which he averaged 29.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three road games – all Celtics wins. During those games played at Golden State, Sacramento and Denver, the 24-year-old shot 59.2 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from 3-point range, and 93.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The fifth-year wing also won the award after the first week of March, when he compiled 41.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 5.0 APG, while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range.

For Tatum, it is his third such honor of the season, making it the second consecutive season during which he has been named Player of the Week three times. Larry Bird and Kevin Garnett are the only other players in franchise history who have won it three times during the same season.

As for Boston players who have won it twice in the same month, the list is even shorter. Paul Pierce had been the only other Celtic to do so, accomplishing the feat twice in December of 2007.

With one week left in March, Tatum has a chance to make Celtics history – if he were to win it a third time. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look back at the incredible week he just put together.

Tatum started off the week with his 21st double-double of the season Wednesday night, logging team highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds during a 110-88 win over the Golden State Warriors. Although he shot below 40 percent both from the field and 3-point range, it was one of Tatum’s best free-throw-shooting performances of the season. He attacked the rim relentlessly, which helped him to earn 12 trips to the free-throw line; he made 11 of those attempts, which tied his second-most makes of the season. Tatum also dished out four assists, snagged one steal, and was a plus-17 during 37 minutes of action. Entering the night, Golden State had the best home record in the entire NBA at 29-7, but Tatum and Co. had no trouble at all blowing them out at Chase Center.

The middle game of the week was one of the most efficient, high-volume scoring games of Tatum’s entire career. During a 126-97 beatdown against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, he dropped a game-high 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field, including a 7-of-10 clip from 3-point range. It marked the first time in Tatum’s career that he scored 30-plus points on at least 70 percent shooting both from the field and from long range. Tatum also corralled five rebounds, handed out four assists, and turned the ball over just twice during 34 minutes of action at Golden 1 Center.

It’s not unusual to hear “MVP” chants inside Ball Arena, but it is unusual when they are not being directed toward reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic. On Sunday night, those words were raining down upon Tatum in the Mile High City, as he and the Celtics handed the Nuggets a 124-104 hammering. Tatum tied fellow Player of the Week nominee Jaylen Brown in the scoring column with 30 points, marking the second straight game during which the duo reached that mark. Tatum delivered another remarkable shooting performance, knocking down 11-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also corralled six rebounds and tied Marcus Smart for the game high in assists with seven, all during just 33 minutes of action. Tatum finished the night with a plus-22 and wrapped up the week with a plus-79 over 104 total minutes.

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Tatum Earns Second Player of the Week Nod in Three Weeks

Kevin Garnett brought an unmatched level of intensity into every game that he played for the Celtics throughout his six seasons in Boston, and that often led to his domination of the opposition.

As the Celtics get ready to retire his No. 5 jersey patch to the rafters Sunday afternoon, we’re taking a look back at five of the most spectacular performances that helped enable KG to earn his place among the franchise’s legends.

When it comes to first impressions, Kevin Garnett couldn’t have left a better one upon Celtics fans. His debut performance against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 2, 2007, happened to be one of the best of his career, as he tipped off the season to the tune of 22 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in a 103-83, blowout win at TD Garden. For KG, it was the only 20-20 performance of his tenure in Boston, and it just so happened to come in his very first game in a Celtics uniform. It also set the tone for his Defensive Player of the Year campaign and was the first of many steps he took in helping the franchise carve out its path to the 2008 title.

The 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals was known for its battles between Paul Pierce and LeBron James. However, in Game 5, Kevin Garnett got in on the action as well. While James (35 points) and Pierce (29 points) led their respective teams in scoring, Garnett was without a doubt the player of the game, as he recorded 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting, 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks during 41-plus minutes of turnover-free action. His combined effort with Pierce, along with a 20-point, 13-assist performance from Rajon Rondo, helped Boston snag a 96-89 win at TD Garden, giving it a 3-2 lead in the series against Cleveland.

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat was remembered for two reasons. It was the game where Rajon Rondo dislocated his elbow and somehow played through the pain while dishing out 11 assists. And it was the game where Kevin Garnett dominated Miami’s Big 3 with the best rebounding performance and one of the highest-scoring efforts of his Celtics postseason career. KG logged game-highs of 28 points and a career Celtics playoff high of 18 rebounds, to go along with one assist and two steals. He also didn’t commit a single turnover during his 38 minutes of action. On the defensive end, he held Hall-of-Fame big man Chris Bosh to just six points and five boards, while also helping to limit LeBron James to just 15 points, while leading the Celtics to a 97-81 win for their first victory of the series.

The Atlanta Hawks were just over 30 seconds away from capturing Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals over the Celtics and sending the series back to Atlanta for a Game 7. However, Kevin Garnett had other plans in mind. With 30.4 ticks left on the clock, KG knocked down a go-ahead mid-range jumper that would launch Boston past the Hawks with an 83-80 win and into the East semifinals. That shot capped off a stellar effort for Garnett, which included 28 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and five blocks – a playoff career-high with the Celtics. Not to mention, this all came just a week shy of KG’s 36th birthday, as he showed the world that he still had plenty left in his tank.

Kevin Garnett poured his heart and soul into bringing a championship banner to Boston, and his efforts culminated on June 17, 2008 with the most important performance of his entire career. Garnett and the Celtics entered Game 6 of the Finals with a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers, and he helped bring down the hammer on their archrival in a 131-92 title-clinching drubbing. KG logged game highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds, to go along with four assists, three steals, and one block. He also went mistake-free, not committing a single turnover during his 36 minutes of action. As green and white confetti rained down upon his face postgame, Garnett famously screamed, “Anything is possible!” One thing is for certain: that 2008 championship run would not have been possible if he hadn't turned in such spectacular performances along the way.