Former Boston Celtics superstars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce enjoyed stellar careers that eventually saw them enshrined into the Hall of Fame. In their primes, they were among the best players in the league, not only in their positions. Garnett and Pierce had long careers in the NBA, but both eventually succumbed to Father Time. On the latest episode of the Ticket and the Truth podcast, the duo opened up about the moment they realized they were on the decline after years of being among the NBA’s top players.
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Garnett explained that athletes work hard which eventually brings confidence in them. However, once one starts feeling like the ‘king of confidence’, comes a decline.
“You worked your a*s off to get to a certain confidence, and as soon as you get king of confidence, then some of your physical starts to drop a little bit.”
Garnett claimed Pierce’s skill set ensured he was an effective player until the end. Towards the end of their careers, NBA teams had moved midrange and post-game and began focusing on stretching the floor and shooting threes. The new philosophy was right down Pierce’s alley, but not Garnett’s. He explained,
“I watched you aged gracefully. Because you started playing the 4, you can shoot, you start stretching it, and then the league starts going in that direction. I had to go to 5s and next thing I looked up I was guarding Shaqs, and I was like, ‘What the f**k?'”
Garnett added that realizing he was declining as an athlete and his career was nearing its end was difficult to digest.
It’s definitely a hard feeling when one realises that their skillset is now declining, which they developed working whole their life. Playing basketball was the sole purpose of Garnett’s life. He went straight from high school to the NBA at age 19 and had spent more than half his life as a professional basketball player.
Realizing that playing professionally would no longer be a viable option would’ve been a heartbreaking experience for Garnett. He’s successfully reinvented himself as an analyst, but during his final year in the league, knowing that he was leaving the sport he had played his entire life would’ve been a scary proposition.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce’s twilight years
After the 2012-13 season, the Boston Celtics knew Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were entering the twilight of their careers and decided to trade them to the Brooklyn Nets. In their debut season in Brooklyn, Garnett averaged 6.5 points in 20.5 minutes, while Pierce averaged 13.5 in 28. The latter left the team to sign with the Washington Wizards, where he had a fruitful year coming off the bench. He spent the final two years of his career with the Los Angeles Clippers in a limited role before retiring in 2017.
After Pierce’s exit, Garnett stayed with the Nets until February 2015, before returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves for his last dance. However, it did not go as swimmingly as he’d have hoped. He played only 43 games in the final 15 months of his career and averaged a meagre 3.2 points during the 2015-16 season. He immediately retired at the end of the season.
The Celtics honored Garnett and Pierce for their contributions to the franchise by retiring their jerseys. While Pierce was a lock to have his jersey hanging in the rafters at the TD Garden, Garnett was in disbelief that the team would bestow him with the same honor. Despite not finishing their career with the Celtics, both players deserved to have their legacies celebrated.
Garnett and Pierce’s careers may not have ended as they had envisioned or hoped for, but the tame end doesn’t take away the sheen of their incredible journey before that.
