The Boston Celtics announced a major decision: they will retire the No. 5 jersey of 2008 NBA Champion Kevin Garnett next season.

"I'm honored and thankful to have my number retired with the Celtics. I will always have immense respect and appreciation for ownership, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, my past teammates and Celtic Nation!" said KG.

"From the moment he arrived in the summer of 2007, Kevin changed everything for us. His complete commitment to winning was a decisive factor in our 2008 championship. He will always be one of my very favorite Celtics," said Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner of the Celtics.

"KG arrived in Boston as a quintessential Celtic who embraced the 'team first' ethic and brought a competitive fire. We will be forever grateful for his extraordinary contribution to bringing the 17th championship banner to Boston, and we will always remember him as a leader on and off the court. He was the true embodiment of Celtics pride," said Steve Pagliuca, co-owner of the team.

"Kevin gave everything he had to the Celtics in every practice, in every game, and his unique blend of energy, intelligence, and talent brought out the best in his teammates and coaches," said Danny Ainge, the team's president of basketball operations.

As the team with the most NBA Championships (17), the Celtics have retired way too many numbers – each and every of them an important figure in their era. Garnett's time as a Celtic was not long – six seasons – so what did he do that granted him this honor? 

Though he has won so many awards in the league, those are not the only reason that made Garnett the legend he is. In fact, he was a very special guy from the very beginning.

In the 1995 NBA Draft, with the fifth pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected 19-year-old Garnett from Farragut Academy. After Moses Malone and Shawn Kemp, he also went straight from high school to the NBA, skipping college altogether. 

In the following seasons, the league continued to be shocked by this unicorn named KG. He's a seven-footer with long-limbs, but he's fast enough to surpass every teammate, including guards when he's running in training sessions. He consistently dropped 20+points, 10+rebounds and 5+assists for six straight seasons. He could switch to defend perimeter players and then immediately return to the paint to protect the rim. KG seemed like a perpetual motion machine – he never ran out of strength or passion.

In 2004, he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player.

However, darkness was approaching KG, especially after the individual peak of his career.

He led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals in 2004 but then missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. He punched rookie player Rick Rickert in the face in training camp practice and, as a result, Rickert needed stitches, chipped a tooth and was never seen again in the NBA. KG was as complete as he had always been, but he's not a reliable isolation scorer, and that meant he could not help his team more than before.

In the game against the Detroit Pistons in January, 2007, KG pushed and threw the ball at Antonio McDyess who had just got entangled with KG's teammate Mark Madsen. The incident almost led to a large-scale fight.

It's clear that KG's passion for the game already started to burn him and his team.

Then there came the legendary deal. In the summer of 2007, the Celtics sent Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations and two first-round draft picks to the Timberwolves in exchange for 31-year-old Garnett.

A team for a guy, but it was worth it.

In his first season in Boston, KG joined Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to change the team's record from 24-58 of the previous season to franchise record 66-16. The Celtics established a historic defense and KG was the reason why they could do it. He was able to take care of his defensive target while always being ready to help his teammates on defense in other parts of the court. Simply speaking, every player felt like he faced two defenders in a game against the Celtics, one in front of his face, the other was an invisible KG who could jump out of nowhere.

The Celtics won their 17th NBA Championship that season after they smashed the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James who is about to win two straight NBA MVP awards, the Pistons who reached the Eastern Finals for the sixth consecutive time and the Los Angeles Lakers led by 2008 NBA MVP Kobe Bryant.

"Anything is possible! Anything is possible!" screamed KG after the Celtics won Game 6 of the Finals.

In the following 2008-09 season, Boston continued to dominate the rest of the league, aiming for their second title in a row. Everybody believed they could do it, until the end of March 2009. KG was ruled out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs because of a knee injury.

Without the core part of their defensive system and a member of the Big 3, the Celtics barely survived the first round of the playoffs against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls after seven tough games. Nonetheless, they finally fell in front of the 3-pointer storm and the monstrous assault led by the Orlando Magic and Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard.

KG returned for the 2009-10 season. However, injury began to hold him back. He wasn't fast enough to cover every part of the court, he relied more than before on jump shooting instead of tussling under the rim. The Celtics' rebound protection kept getting worse. It took them more effort to get a win, no matter who they were playing against.

The world started to ask: are they getting old? Do they still have it?

With a 52-30 record, KG and the Celtics were ready to answer those questions in the playoffs.

Knocking out Dwayne Wade 4-1 in the first round was nice but not convincing enough, especially when the Celtics had to meet the Cavaliers and James again in the Eastern semifinals.

It took the Celtics six games to make James taste loss again in the playoffs. In the Eastern Finals, KG got the chance for vengeance because their opponents were Howard and the Magic. Again, it took six games to determine the final winner – this time the Celtics.

In the 2010 NBA Finals, KG and the Celtics met their rivals, Bryant and the Lakers. After seven games of fierce battles, the purple and gold pocketed their 16th NBA Championship while Bryant received his second NBA Finals MVP and fifth ring.

In the following three seasons, KG and the Celtics continued to grow older. They never missed the playoffs and they never made it easy for the opponents to win. Nonetheless, they could not stop the young generation anymore. James, who was part of a new Big 3 on the Miami Heat with Wade and Chris Bosh, for the first time, defeated KG and his Celtics in the 2011 playoffs. The same scenario repeated itself again one year later.

In 2012 summer, Ray Allen left. Then in the 2013 playoffs, the Celtics were knocked by Carmelo Anthony and his New York Knicks. KG played his last playoff game in Boston and then it was time for him to say goodbye to the TD Garden.

In 2013 summer, the Celtics trade him and Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets and received more than enough assets for a quick team rebuild. Though the Nets made the playoffs, KG only played 20.8 minutes to get 6.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, all the lowest in his career. By the way, it was again James and the Heat that eliminated them.

In 2014 summer, Pierce left for the Washington Wizards. One year later, KG left Brooklyn to go home to the Timberwolves. Two years later, 40-year-old Garnett announced his retirement.

Six seasons in Boston, 396 regular-season games, 84 playoff games, one championship, one DPOY award, that's what KG had left as a Celtic. Does he deserve to have his jersey retired? We argue, it's a decisive yes.