Prior to Kevin Garnett's arrival in the summer of 2007, the Boston Celtics had gone 21 straight seasons without capturing an NBA Championship.
Aside from Paul Pierce, perhaps no player drafted in between the team's last Larry Bird-led title in 1986 and the breakthrough with Garnett accomplished more for the Celtics than Antoine Walker, a three-time All-Star who teamed with Pierce to get Boston as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2001-02 season.
Walker's contributions to the franchise apparently went beyond his two stints in green, however.
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In an interview with GQ ahead of the release of Garnett's documentary Anything Is Possible on Thursday, the Basketball Hall of Famer recalls an interaction with Walker at a ceremony celebrating the wedding vow renewals of Gary Payton earlier in the summer of '07.
"The former Celtic helped convince him that Boston was where he could win," GQ writes.
The Celtics had already acquired Ray Allen from the Seattle SuperSonics at that juncture, which didn't hurt, but Garnett also reveals in the interview another reason he ended up in Boston.
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Along with the Celtics, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers were at the forefront of trade discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Garnett. As a decision drew nearer, the Suns were out, but Garnett still wanted to check in Lakers star Kobe Bryant about joining forces.
Trouble was, Bryant was in China, and Garnett was unable to connect with him. Next came his meeting with 'Toine at the Glove's vow renewals and before long, Garnett was screaming "anything is possible" after the Celtics defeated Bryant's Lakers in six games in the 2008 NBA Finals.
"It was all good," Garnett said. "I always loved playing against [Kobe]. But yeah, it probably would have been a different level playing with him."