The greatest of the great in terms of NBA legends routinely see their jerseys elevated to the rafters of their respective teams at the ends of their careers, and the Boston Celtics are about as far as one can come from an exception in that regard. But despite the importance we put on those jerseys to symbolize the careers of Hall of Fame and historic players, we spend far too little time remembering why those players ended up in those jerseys in the first place.
Sometimes, it’s pedestrian — just a number they started wearing at some point. Other times, there’s meaning behind it, such as Robert Parish wearing 00 because of how bad of a player he was when he first started.
And sometimes the meaning is deeply personal, as it was for Boston big man icon Kevin Garnett.
To hear the heart-rending tale behind KG’s choice in jersey, check out the clip embedded above from the folks over at the HoopsFlix YouTube channel.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire