Upstate Basketball Star Adds Name to Elite List
On Thursday night, drilling a fadeaway turnaround jumper with 8:07 in the second quarter, former Mauldin High School standout Kevin Garnett became the 16th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points.
During the next play stoppage, the team publicly acknowledged Garnett’s achievement, and the crowd came to its feet in a standing ovation. The Celtics’ center-forward expressed his appreciation and waved to the fans in response.
The night ended with the Celtics beating the LA Lakers 116-95. Garnett’s night netted 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals that took him to 25,009 career points.
Membership in the 25,000 point club puts him in the ranks of NBA greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), Kobe Bryant (30,834), Shaquille O’Neal (28,596), Moses Malone (27,409), Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946), Oscar Robertson (26,710), Dominique Wilkins (26,668), John Havlicek (26,395), Alex English (25,613), and Reggie Miller (25,279).
Last month, Garnett passed Patrick Ewing for 16th place on the all-time scoring list, and as Celtics radio play-by-play announcer Sean Grande noted on his Twitter page Thursday, KG also takes his place in NBA history as the only person with at least 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 blocks and 1,500 steals.
Talking to reporters after hitting Thursday’s milestone, one he said he was unaware of prior to the game, Garnett said, “I’m sure someday I’ll fall back and rock in my rocking chair having a cigar thinking about what I’ve done. I’m sure it will make some sense to me then.”
He added, “I bleed green and I’ll continue to do that. If it’s up to me, I’m going to retire a Celtic. I just want y’all to know that.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Kevin Garnett on Facebook
