Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen shocked the NBA world when they joined forces in 2007, creating the Boston Celtics’ Big 3 that won the championship one year later.
Plenty of people believe those moves started the superteam trend we saw in the 2010s, but Garnett clarified that teams only wanted to emulate what the Detroit Pistons had done, reaching a new level with All-Star players.
The Big 3 had a terrific first season, but they only got that championship in 2008. They did go back to the Finals in 2010, but Kobe Bryant was ready to get his revenge and beat them in seven games.
Garnett believes he could have won more if he joined the Celtics earlier. Talking with Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report, the 2004 NBA MVP admitted that’s one decision he could have made sooner, claiming they could have gotten two or three championships.
B/R: What’s one decision you made during your career, on or off the court, that you wish you could have back?
Garnett: I would have gone to the Celtics a little earlier. After Sam [Cassell] and Spree [Latrell Sprewell] didn’t get their extensions, I would have left Minnesota a little earlier. I told Paul [Pierce] that, and he kind of got mad at me.
B/R: Like, ‘Why didn’t you do that? We could have got two or three.’
Garnett: Facts. You sound like Paul now. [Laughs]
The Celtics had a terrific team; they were always labeled favorites to the title during those years. Nevertheless, the Big 3 aged; they made decisions that split the trio and never went back to the biggest series of all.
We’ll never know what would have happened if the Celtics assembled their superteam earlier, but at least they were able to win the title in that magical 2007/08 season. Perhaps MVP Garnett would have won his first championship in 2004, but that’s impossible to know now.
