“Let me tell you ’bout my beeest friend…”
If there ever were a song to describe the relationship between Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Harry Nilsson’s 1969 smash hit is it.
Boston Celtics fans are well aware of just how close the two NBA legends are. But in a piece published Sunday ahead of Pierce’s jersey retirement ceremony at TD Garden, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan added extraordinary color to one of the NBA’s premier bromances.
There are plenty of fascinating nuggets in MacMullan’s story, but this bit about Pierce and Garnett being neighbors near Los Angeles might be the best:
“They are neighbors now. Garnett is renting in Pierce’s Calabasas neighborhood while his Malibu home undergoes renovations,” MacMullan wrote. “Their families have expanded — Pierce has a daughter, Jazzy, and a son, Prince, who goes to school each day with Garnett’s youngest daughter, Cocoa.
“Sometimes, Pierce hops on his bike and rides to KG’s house, or walks through KG’s backyard and lets himself into his gate house, where he’ll watch TV for a while before texting his friend. ‘Hey, man,’ KG often replies. ‘I’m not even home right now!’
“They still talk nearly every day, hanging together in the early part of the week before Garnett leaves for Atlanta to fulfill his “Area 21″ television duties.”
Awesome.
Pierce, of course, has an incalculable amount of great memories from his career to look back on and cherish. But as MacMullan points out in her story, winning the 2008 NBA Finals with his best friend certainly tops the list.
