There's not much that Kevin Garnett didn't accomplish on the basketball court. He's been a league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, and he's also been an All-Star 15 times and a member of the All-Defensive Team 12 times.
KG is also an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics in 2008. However, that's the one thing that he didn't readily attain. It took a trade to Beantown and a team-up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to make it happen.
That's why, for a highly decorated player like him, The Big Ticket knows how special it is to win a title. The personal accolades were nice, but winning it all with a group of teammates was an experience he couldn't replicate with another trophy on his own shelf.
"Rings or awards" has been a talking point on basketball podcasts lately. Tracy McGrady said earlier this month that he preferred winning an MVP to a title and got the oldheads talking. Meanwhile, Olden Polynice and Byron Scott called out that "loser's mindset" in response to T-Mac's stance.
Garnett sees value in both, but he knows which one carries a different kind of meaning. Individual awards recognize what a player accomplishes on his own, while a championship is something he shares with everyone who helped him get there.
"If I'm going to pick one, I'm going to pick one with the guys," Garnett said on the "Out the Mud" podcast. "You can do s—t on your own, bro, but doing something with the guys? That's only going to happen very rare. Give me the championship all day. They're going to know me anyway for these stripes and battle wounds, but what we did with the guys? Yeah, that's between us and the guys."
As mentioned, Garnett doesn't diminish the value of individual awards. He considered them "patches" and "badges," and they're probably the first things fans associate with him. That said, getting multiple individuals, from the top down, on the same page and working toward a common goal is far harder than achieving things on your own.
"When you get them awards and them All-Stars, those are the things you earned. When you get that Larry O'Brien, you and the guys, y'all came together for one goal and got this. No one person did any of this. Coaches went into this, the equipment manager, everybody went into the Larry O'Brien. When you get that one joint, you need teammates to get it there. You got to put it in the basket. You got to perform, you got to be there consistently," he added.
The 2008 Celtics are a perfect example of what Garnett means. Boston brought together three established stars, but talent alone wasn't enough. They needed somebody like Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, plus a bench loaded with veteran experience. Doc Rivers brilliantly captained the ship, while Tom Thibodeau, Clifford Ray and a slew of other assistant coaches helped out.
That's the distinction Garnett is pointing out. Individual awards are stamps of greatness, but a championship comes with stories and memories that only the people in that locker room can fully appreciate.
A total of 36 players have received an MVP award since the league instituted the award in 1956. 466 players have been an All-Star at least once.
What about championships? About 1 in 9 NBA players, or 11.36% of all NBA players, have won a championship. That's roughly 512 out of over 4,500 players in the Association's 77-year history! Additionally, only 1 percent of all NBA players have won at least four rings.
From a team standpoint, winning a title is just as rare. Out of 30 active NBA teams, 10 never had a Larry O'Brien to show for it.
So, what's the point? A championship is the ultimate team achievement, and that's what makes it so rare. Garnett had already been great before he landed in Boston, but winning that title gave him something no individual award could.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
