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Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell was teammates with former Celtics star Kevin Garnett when they suited up with the Minnesota Timberwolves for two seasons. Cassell is ready for his second year as an assistant coach with the Celtics, and Garnett won a championship in Boston in his first year with Boston in 2008.
Garnett and Cassell became good friends during their two seasons in Minnesota, with the veteran Cassell serving as a mentor to the young star trying to make his way into the NBA after the Wolves selected him fresh out of high school with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.
Cassell recalled one bus ride after a Minnesota victory, and that’s when he knew Garnett was a rare breed.
Sam Cassell Recalls Kevin Garnett’s Eye-Opening Comments After a Timberwolves Victory
It’s no secret Garnett was one of the most intense players the NBA has ever seen. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound star exploded onto the scene one year after averaging a modest 10.4 points as a rookie with the Wolves during the 1994-95 season.
In his second year in the NBA, Garnett secured the first of his 15 All-Star seasons after putting up 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. His intensity was unmatched, as was his desire to get better. Cassell, who was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Wolves before the 2003-04 season, recalled a time when he realized how intense the big man was.
“We was on the bus one day,” Cassell said during an appearance on the “Knuckleheads Podcast,” “and this is when I knew he was kind of crazy. We played the Sacramento Kings, and they had (Vlade) Divac and (Chris) Webber, and he had 38 points and 28 rebounds in a win.
“They gave him a stat sheet in the back of the bus. We had a back-to-back, going to Golden State. I heard him in the back of the bus. He’s like, ‘Damn. (Expletive),’ and I’m like what’s wrong, man?
“He said, ‘I could’ve had 38 rebounds. I could’ve had 38 and 38.’ He remembered all the rebounds that he didn’t get. ‘(Ervin)Johnson, you stole three of my rebounds. Sam, get your little ass outta there. (Latrell Sprewell), let me run that ball down.’ He knew every rebound that he didn’t get.”
Cassell and Garnett Won a Title Together in Boston
After a dismal 2006-07 in which they went 24-58, the Celtics needed to make a move. They made a few.
Shortly after trading for sharpshooter Ray Allen before the 2007-08 season, the Celtics made a blockbuster deal to acquire Garnett, sending five players and a pair of first-round draft picks to the Timberwolves. In March 2008, they also signed Cassell to a free-agent deal.
Boston pushed all the right buttons that season and went on to win 66 games and capture its first championship since 1986. Garnett was named Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in the MVP voting.
Garnett played six seasons with the Celtics, earning All-Star honors in five of them. Cassell played just 17 games for Boston, finishing his 15-year NBA career with the Celtics. Cassell joined the Celtics’ coaching crew for the 2023-24 season and won another championship in Boston as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals.
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