On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett scored the 20,001st point of his career in a road game with the Celtics against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In what was then the 13th season of his Hall of Fame NBA career, KG broke the 20,000-point mark with a layup in the first half’s final five minutes of play, giving the Celtics a 45-27 lead in the process. Only Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant were in that elite scoring club with him as active NBA players at the time who had also hit that lofty plateau.
With the feat, The Big Ticket (as Garnett is sometimes called) became the 32nd player in league history to score 20,000 points in their career.
“I wasn’t aware coming in,” Garnett said at the time via Boston.com’s Mark Spears. “It’s a great accomplishment for me. I’m more grateful to every coach, point guard, staff [member], everybody who’s put me in a position to be successful and I just say thank you.
“It’s a bit more meaningful as a Celtic when it happened. It seems like things are lining (up) for something more beautiful, like a championship.”
It is also the date that John Havlicek scored 43 points against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee Bucks.
Hondo also logged 9 rebounds and 9 assists to go with his forty-burger, but surprisingly was not the game’s leading scorer. That honor went to Kareem, who put up 44 points in response to seal a 130-134 win.
Finally, it is also the date that former Celtics forward Don Barksdale left us in 1993.
The Hall of Fame swingman had been born in Oakland, California, and played his NCAA ball with Marin Junior College and UCLA before being picked up by the Baltimore Bullets (now defunct).
Traded to the Celtics for Herm Hedderick, Mo Mahoney, Jim Doherty, and Vernon Stokes, Barksdale played two seasons with Boston before ankle injuries ended his career.
The Oakland native averaged 9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while with the team — rest in peace.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
