The Boston Celtics assembled a roster built for championship basketball, and paved the future of the NBA in the process.
For the past decade in the NBA, there has been an outcry for a lack of parody as fans believe it has been easy to predict which teams will advance far into the playoffs and take home the Larry O’Brien trophy each year. The root of the Big 3 era and start of super teams can be attributed to the skilled negotiator manning the front office for the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge; who was able to not only acquire Ray Allen in June of 2007, but also Kevin Garnett on this day 12 years ago.
By dealing a profusion of assets to pick up the two stars, Ainge was able to assemble one of the greatest trios in NBA history in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. The two trades propelled the Boston Celtics squarely into the title conversation for the 2007-2008 season, despite finishing 24-58 in 2007, the Celtics moved up to the team with the fourth highest odds to win the 2008 Finals, at 5-1.
After locking up the no. 1 seed in the East in 2008, and boasting a 66-16 record, the Celtics were now the favorites to win the Finals. Despite a shaky run through the East, including going to Game 7 against the eighth-seeded Hawks and fourth-seeded Cavaliers, the Celtics found themselves up against the Kobe-led Lakers in the NBA Finals, in an attempt to conclude the greatest turnaround season in NBA history. After a tough six games, five of which were within ten points or less, the Boston Celtics were crowned NBA Champions.
The major dominoes to fall in the NBA since then can be largely attributed to the Celtics summer in 2007, showing player mobility can lead to success. The Big 3 in Miami and Kevin Durant to the Warriors have dictated four different NBA championships at least, player movement and forming of superstar tandems through trade and free agency is at an all-time high in the league. Without the Celtics going all out to acquire two stars in the same offseason, perhaps we do not see the progressive, player-friendly landscape where mobility is accepted and there is a more stagnant league where stars stay in the same location for most of their careers, the way it was for all of league history prior.
