Winning an NBA championship takes a lot more than skills and hard work. Playing 82 games in the regular season, followed by the best-of-7 playoff run, demands routine and consistency. From Larry Bird to LeBron James to Stephen Curry, every champion can attest to that. But cultivating a routine is easier said than done. Kevin Garnett understood that when he helped the Boston Celtics capture the NBA championship in 2008.
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Kendrick Perkins, who played an equally important role in that squad, saw firsthand how Garnett rose up as a team leader and inspired a squad of superstars to sacrifice for the greater good. Garnett also emphasized the importance of process, the need to get the everyday details right, knowing it would pay off in the long run.
Perkins appeared on the Out the Mud podcast yesterday, where he discussed everything Garnett brought to the outfit, both on and off the court.
“He taught the locker room that routine… KG had me on some s*** like, where I woke up at the same time every day. I [went] to the gym at the same time every day. I ate at the same time. Got my ankles taped at the same time. Most importantly, though, he taught a m*********, the sacrifice,” Perkins revealed.
“He clearly was the best player on our team,” Perkins stated, adding, “Paul [Pierce] was then truth. Ray [Allen] was Jesus. KG, best all-around player. He was him,” asserted Perkins, still in awe of Garnett’s abilities.
The star center went on to reveal that it was Garnett who advised head coach Doc Rivers to make Paul Pierce and Ray Allen the Celtics’ primary scorers.
“‘Hey Doc, I am going to hold this paint down. If you need me, I am here,'” Perkins remembers KG telling Rivers. “That was it! That was the sacrifice. Set the tone, like ‘hey, no, what I am trying to accomplish, the reason that I am here is bigger than the whole team, it’s bigger than myself.’ Once he set that bar, everybody else had to fall in line,” Perkins added.
The idea was to be on the same page, to function as one team with a single goal. They even had matching haircuts that made them indistinguishable! Clearly, it worked out, as they went on to win the NBA title in 2008! The Celtics will hope they can find a leader like Garnett to rally behind and perhaps replicate the success this season.
