Tag: Jersey retirement

Celtics Hall of Fame center Robert Parish wore No. 00…because of how bad he was

Trust us, there’s more to this story.

It might be hard to believe, but the reason the No. 00 Boston Celtics jersey is hanging in the rafters is because of how bad Hall of Fame Celtics big man Robert Parish was.

If you are confused by that sentence, we understand. After all, it was Parish’s rock-steady excellence that helped propel Boston to three titles in the 1980s.

But per the man himself, he would never have elected to wear 00 had he not been such a poor prospect in junior high school.

“My junior high school team gave out jersey numbers to the players (given) the scale of talent,” said Parish on an episode of the “In the Post with Elvin Hayes” podcast.

“The best players got their jerseys first,” explained Chief, “and then, the players that wasn’t as good as the starting five, that’s who got the remaining jerseys.”

“Being that I was the worst player on the team at the time, 00 was the last jersey. So that’s how I got the No. 00,” explained Parish, noting the number followed him the rest of his career.

Until, that is, it was hung in Boston Celtics Valhalla, never to be worn again by any player — and rightfully so.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Matthew Stafford’s #7 jersey retired at his alma mater Highland Park High School

Highland Park High School retired #Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s jersey on Friday night in honor of his incredible accomplishments.

In the midst of another attempt at a chance to play for the Lombardi trophy, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had his jersey retired at Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas. He played quarterback for the Highland Park Scots football team from 2003 to 2006, earning a five-star recruiting grade and winning the UIL 4A Division 1 State Championship as a junior in 2005.

The Rams’ official Twitter account made note of the weekend ceremony, posting pictures of the affair along with an obligatory reminder that he attended Highland Park with Los Angeles Dodgers ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Stafford’s old stomping ground was at the center of Texas high school football on the night of the jersey retirement, and the pictures of the occasion seem to show how humbled and honored he was by the school’s gesture. This is sure to be one of many ceremonies that Stafford will attend in the twilight years of his NFL career, and with accomplishments still rolling in for him every season, he may even receive a gold jacket in Canton someday.

For now, though, Stafford is squarely focused on winning football games for the Rams as they seek to earn their second consecutive Super Bowl victory in the 2022 season. A disappointing Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills last week certainly didn’t mar the signal caller’s charisma during his big night back under the lights of the stadium where his journey to the NFL began.

With the full support of his hometown, and maybe even that of his old running mate Kershaw, Stafford should have all the tailwind he needs to play his heart out through the rest of the regular season. It will take a team effort to get the Rams back through the playoffs for a chance to play in February, but for his part, Stafford looks set to play some of the best football of his career through the rest of Los Angeles’ grueling 17-game schedule.

Why didn’t Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell want his jersey retired in public?

The answer lies in Russell’s love for the Celtics and hatred for awards as much as it did his often strained relationship with the city of Boston.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Bill Russell won all 11 NBA titles to his name with the Celtics, became part of the first all-Black starting five in the history of the league, was elevated to become the first Black head coach of any team in the major North American pro sports in Boston, and earned countless other accolades during his time playing for the team.

So why didn’t the legendary Boston big man allow the Celtics to retire his number in a public ceremony? The answer lies in Russell’s love for the Celtics and hatred for awards as much as it did his often strained relationship with the city of Boston.

Watch the clip embedded below courtesy of the folks at CLNS Media’s NBA history and legends YouTube Channel to hear more about the complicated history between the iconic Celtics center and the city he rose to greatness in as a player a coach.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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OKC Thunder quotes: Kevin Durant believes the Thunder have to retire his jersey

KD revealed that he thinks the Thunder owe it to the game of basketball to retire his jersey in @ringer ‘s latest article.

In The Ringer’s latest article, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant disclosed his thoughts on the conversation about whether or not the Oklahoma City Thunder should retire his jersey number 35 despite an ugly 2016 divorce.

“‘OKC has to retire my jersey,’ he continues. “It wouldn’t even be good for the game of basketball if they didn’t.'”

Considering that Durant is a top-15 player of all time and spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Thunder franchise, it goes without saying that the team will likely retire his jersey in the future. Even if there are still hard feelings between the fanbase and Durant. The only caveat I’ve seen Thunder fans made from retiring Durant’s jersey is that it has to happen after Russell Westbrook gets his number zero retired. Which probably will be the case.

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Do the Boston Celtics have too many retired jersey numbers?

Watch this clip to hear Bob Ryan, John Goodman, and Gary Tanguay debate this frequent topic of disagreement among Celtics fans.

Every time the Boston Celtics retire a jersey number, a familiar debate pops up for the team that has the most player jerseys retired to honor the individual contributions to the storied franchise’s historic success.

With 23 numbers — not counting Jim Loscutoff, who had his nickname and not number retired for this very reason — forever out of commission, it is not uncommon to see a contemporary Celtics player sporting a number pretty high up in the list of possible two-digit combinations left to be selected. But is that a problem in need of an intervention? And if not now, could it be soon?

This well-tread debate was waded into by the hosts of the eponymous CLNS Media “Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman” podcast, where, joined by Gary Tanguay, the trio debated whether Boston being perhaps overly generous of the decades with retiring numbers is a problem needing a solution.

With 85 numbers still available to be selected by current Boston players, we here at the Celtics Wire don’t find this to be an especially compelling issue in need of a fix, but check out what the podcast crew have to say on this topic in the clip embedded above.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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The Celtics have retired 23 jersey numbers (and one name) – these are the players so honored

It’s no coincidence this team has the most retired jersey numbers with 17 banners hanging alongside them.

There are no teams in the history of the NBA to have more titles than the Boston Celtics — at least not yet — so it makes sense there are no other franchises with more retired numbers to honor the players over the decades who earned and hung those banners.

In fact, there are no teams in any sport with more retired jersey numbers at 22 overall, a reflection of the excellence behind the Celtics mystique built by franchise architect Red Auerbach. From his signing with the team as coach and general manager onward, Boston became one of the premier teams of the greatest basketball league on the planet.

But who were the players for which those jerseys were retired after the latest addition of Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett? Let’s take a look at them all.

Boston Celtics Hall of Fame center Kevin Garnett’s retirement ceremony

Watch it again here — or see it for the first time!

With 23 numbers now out of circulation for future Boston Celtics players after the team had raised Hall of Fame Celtics champion center Kevin Garnett’s No. 5 jersey up to the rafters, the Ray Allen rift healed, and the Big Ticket properly honored, we can put KG’s big day firmly in the rearview mirror and focus on the Boston roster of today as they gear up for the final leg of the 2022 stretch run.

But some among may have missed the historic event, whether due to work or local unavailability for those of us outside the greater Boston media market, while others may want to see the event again. The folks over at NBC Sports Boston’s YouTube channel captured the event’s highlights from a bird’s eye view in the video embedded below.

Give it a watch to see history in the making this past Sunday, a moment to remember for Celtics fans of all ages.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics Lab 94: Jersey retirements, Kevin Garnett and Celtics history with Twitter’s sports historian Honest Larry

This pod, we get ready for the Big Ticket’s big day with Twitter’s Celtics historian Honest Larry.

This Sunday, the Boston Celtics will retire the jersey number of one of the greatest big men to play for the team, Kevin Garnett. Steeped in organizational history as well as the glory of Banner 17, the event — scheduled after the Celtics’ Sunday afternoon matchup with the Dallas Mavericks — will also incorporate elements of the NBA’s 75th-anniversary celebrations.

With such a historical moment about to unfold for Boston fans, we hosts of the CLNS Media podcast “Celtics Lab” felt it only just to bring on an expert in such things, the Twitter historian for the Celtics, known for his online curation of all things Boston sports and particularly the team that now strives for Banner 18 under head coach Ime Udoka.

That would of course be Honest Larry, who is a must-follow on Twitter if you are not already — and like the hosts of the pod, an educator by trade.

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Cameron Tabatabaie, Alex Goldberg and Justin Quinn talk the history of Celtics jersey retirements, Garnett’s time in Boston, and how the game has changed over the decades among many similar topics.

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Whether you’re already an Honest Larry supporter or not, if you love Celtics history, Kevin Garnett, and everything in between, this is the episode for you.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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WATCH: Should the Boston Celtics retire iconic big man Kevin Garnett’s number?

With so many already in the rafters, this debate is inevitable – but should they?

If you have ever managed to attend a Boston Celtics home game in person, odds are you have noticed the Celtics have a lot of jerseys retired and hanging from the rafters alongside the also copious championship banners.

And while such things naturally go together, at some point the question always pops up as to whether the team has been too liberal retiring jerseys over the years, particularly when a potential jersey retirement candidate is set to have theirs raised up to the rafters. Such is the case with yet another retirement prospect, this time Boston big man legend Kevin Garnett.

And while he may have spent the bulk of his Hall of Fame career elsewhere, he transformed a moribund culture back into a vital one, and helped hang the team’s first banner in decades.

On the latest episode of the CLNS Media podcast “Celtics Beat,” hosts Adam Kaufman and Evan Valenti debate whether or not KG should have his number in the rafters with Boston Globe beat writer Gary Parish.

Watch the clip embedded above to hear their take on this potentially touchy subject. We can’t say we disagree!

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Kevin Garnett doesn’t want his jersey retired in Minnesota, and it’s because of the team owner

That jersey won’t be retired in Minnesota anytime soon.

The first 12 years of Kevin Garnett’s NBA career were spent in Minnesota and they were absolutely the best years of his career.

He was an 10-time NBA All-Star in that span, won an MVP and took a lowly Timberwolves franchise to a Conference Finals. By all accounts, this was where he spent the prime of his career. He won a ring in Boston, but he was at his absolute peak in Minnesota.

So it might come as a shock to most people that, at this point, the future Hall of Famer doesn’t want his jersey retired in Minnesota, like he does in Boston.

When speaking about a possible jersey retirement in Minnesota with The Athletic, Garnett said it wouldn’t feel “genuine.” Why? Because of beef with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor.

“Glen knows where I’m at, I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there. Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip. For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight up person, straight up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him.

Ouch. Those are pretty harsh words from KG. But he has his reasons.

When he went back to Minnesota in 2015, Garnett made it clear he wanted to join the team’s ownership group and be a decision-maker within the franchise.

The late Flip Saunders — the team’s head coach at the time — lined that up for Garnett with Taylor. Saunders passed away later that fall after battling cancer. After his passing, Taylor hired Tom Thibodeau to take over the franchise as the coach and GM. A move which, Garnett says, went back on the plans he, Taylor and Saunders discussed.

Garnett later went on to say he still has love for the team and people in Minnesota, but he called Taylor a “snake” and said he couldn’t work with him.

In other words, Timberwolves fans, don’t hold your breath waiting on that jersey retirement. The Celtics one in Boston will have to be good enough.

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