People nationwide may view guys like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing as only so-so superstars because they never won an NBA championship. Of course, all three came close, each having his own finals appearance or two, but the title always seemed just a bit out of reach. But no one can say any of those guys didn’t try their hardest and give everything they had to get that ring on their fingers.

For a long time, it looked as if Kevin Garnett may have been headed down that same path, mired in Minnesota where losing in the first round and rebuilding years were an annual occurance (except, of course, for the 2004 team that made it to the Western Conference Finals). This superstar has made a living earning awards and praise from NBA officials, coaches, the media, and his teammates, including the 2004 MVP trophy, 11 All-Star game appearances, and this year’s Defensive Player of the year award (for a complete list of KG’s achievements, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Garnett#Achievements). Watching the post-game celebration at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden, it became clear to me that no one on that court on this night wanted to win more than Garnett. Take a look at this video from ABC’s broadcast of KG’s interview: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2459788&b...

Now I’ve never really been a fan of the Celtics because, like the Yankees in baseball, they seem to think they deserve a championship simply because of their rich franchise history. But watching KG pour out his emotions over finally reaching the highest plateau in this sport inspired me to commend him for his perseverence. It also reminded me of some other veterans on this Celtics team who are stand-up guys on and off the court and who had never won a championship until now: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, PJ Brown, Scott Pollard (how can you not root for someone who seemingly changes his hairstyle every week?), and Doc Rivers (solid playing and coaching career). And then it got me to thinking about guys like Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who came so close to winning the NCAA men’s basketball championship during his tenure at LSU, and Leon Powe, a second round draft pick that proved with solid bench performances in these playoffs that speculation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And finally, I recalled what Bill Walton said during the 2006-2007 NBA season about the Phoenix Suns: “Who is going to be the next Eddie House for these guys?” It seemed ridiculous at the time, but after watching House spread the floor for KG with his 3-point shooting it’s clear to me that Bill was on to something. And one thing that House represented during these finals, what Leon Powe represented, and Glen Davis, and especially KG—the man of the hour—is that fire comes from wanting it just a little more than the other guy. That’s not to suggest that the Lakers lacked the emotion necessary to win it all this year, but the Celtics just seemed to me to have that eye of the tiger, to quote a very hackneyed phrase.

They say defense wins championships, but so does heart. As I watched that post-game interview with Kevin Garnett, I saw him bear his heart on his sleave and in his words, which were somewhat indistinguishable because he was fighting back tears. This is why I love the game of basketball, why I love sports in general—guys like Kevin Garnett who respect the game enough to know what winning a title means. Malone, Barkley, and Ewing knew this despite never winning, but that passion to win it all made them the elite superstars they were and provided us, the fans, with great entertainment. So, what I am trying to say is that (to quote those cool NBA commercials) passion is “where amazing happens”. Bring on the offseason!