On this day: Kevin Garnett presented with Defensive Player of the Year award; John Bagley born
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics point guard John Bagley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1960. Bagley would play his college ball at Boston College before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1982 NBA draft with the 12th overall pick. He would play with that franchise and the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets before being traded to the Celtics in 1989.
Bags would play for the Celtics for three seasons between 1989 and 1992 but missed the 1990-91 season entirely due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He would average 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in that stretch with the team.
Bagley would sign a deal with the Atlanta Hawks in November 1993, his last stop in the league before retiring.
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It was on this date when, on their way to winning the team’s 17th banner, future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett was presented with the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year award.
It came before a 96-77 Game 2 win over the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden that saw a raucous crowd chant “M-V-P” as KG was handed another piece of season-long hardware.
“It’s not one person, but it is all of us that make up this award,” said the Big Ticket via the AP on being handed the trophy.
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