The 2007-08 Celtics were a forever team, for more reasons than one.
Boston pulled off a 42-win comeback in just one year, winning the franchise’s first championship in 22 years behind a core that quickly established itself as a pillar of Celtics history. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen helped turn the ship in year one after making separate trades and joining forces with Paul Pierce.
Despite winning 66 games in the regular season, the title didn’t really come that easily in the playoffs, at least compared to this season’s streak. The Celtics lost 10 games on their way to a championship, and needed to win Game 7 in each of the first two rounds to stay alive.
This year’s stretch has been much smoother, even if the Celtics struggled to pass the eye test against some defeated Eastern Conference teams early in the playoffs. Boston enters Game 4 with a stellar 15-2 playoff record after a 64-18 regular season.
The Celtics’ run has fans remembering Garnett’s most iconic moment in the 2008 championship, a catchphrase he uttered moments after the final buzzer sounded.
Reviewing Kevin Garnett’s “Anything is Possible” Speech
An ESPN reporter met with Garnett after the final buzzer sounded in the Celtics’ 2008 championship run, but the veteran big man needed a few moments to compose himself. When the words finally came, Garnett unleashed a phrase that will resonate in Boston sports history forever.
“Man, I’m so excited right now. Anything is possible,” an excited Garnett said before doffing his hat and yelling again, “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!”
The Celtics have as storied a history as any franchise, but the moment was surreal for both Garnett and the franchise. The Celtics went 24-58 a season earlier, when Pierce missed 35 games and both Garnett and Allen played elsewhere.
For Garnett, playoff disappointment became the norm before 2008. The Timberwolves suffered a first-round loss in seven consecutive seasons despite Garnett’s greatness, and their only playoff series wins came during his season. Most Valuable Player in 2003-04. A Western Conference Finals appearance for Minnesota gave way to more disappointment, as the Timberwolves missed the playoffs in each of Garnett’s final three seasons and endured two coaching changes.
After going from an all-too-common playoff failure to an NBA championship in a different city in the span of a year, it’s no surprise that victory made Garnett believe anything was possible.
A title in 2024 would seem a little more possible than in 2008. The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in six of the last eight years, with an NBA Finals appearance in 2022. Boston has been moving toward the top since Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. were selected, and there is no doubt that franchise leaders will believe that this year can be the first of multiple title runs.
The Celtics probably believed the same thing in 2008, too. They returned to the Finals in 2010, but they haven’t won it all since. The new core is about to change that.
Where is Kevin Garnett now?
Garnett’s tenure in Boston ended when the Celtics traded him to the Nets along with Pierce in 2013. The deal gave the Celtics a host of first-round picks, helping the franchise build its current roster. In fact, the Nets’ 2016 first-round pick was used to select Jaylen Brown, while the Celtics only got the 2017 No. 1 pick (which was used to trade up to No. 3) via a trade. picks with the Nets in the Garnett-Pierce Deal.
Garnett was 37 years old when he landed in Brooklyn and quickly started playing like that. The former MVP averaged just 6.5 points per game in his only full season with the Nets, and would be traded back to the Timberwolves simply as a veteran player and mentor at the 2015 trade deadline.
Garnett retired from the NBA in September 2016 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. While his relationship with the Timberwolves owners is frayed, Garnett remains a fan of both Minnesota and Boston.
“I’m part wolf, part Celtic,” Garnett saying In May.
Garnett also recently defended the Celts against claims that their path to the playoffs has been easy, mocking fans who want “all this heartfelt drama and [series] “There are seven games.”
“No, that’s not the script here,” Garnett said, arguing that the Celtics were simply much better than any other team in the East. The standings back it up (Boston finished at least 16 games ahead of everyone else) and the NBA Finals are proving they can do it against Western Conference competition, too.
Garnett currently hosts a podcast called “KG Certificate“, which features Pierce as a weekly guest.