The 2007-08 Boston Celtics were the rare superteam that hit the ground running, taking little time to calibrate a roster loaded up with future Hall of Fame players like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. But the seamless start of the Ubuntu-era 'New Big Three' was not seen as assured before it began, with head coach Doc Rivers hearing from peers that the second season of this group would hang their banner after a presumed campaign of finding their footing.
"You have got to have the right group," sad Rivers of what helped Boston beat those expectations in a recent interview (h/t to Boston Celtics on MassLive) ahead of his induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. "Kevin, Paul, and Ray were the veterans, and PJ Brown, in that group.
They all wanted to win, they all were ready. They were done with all the individual stuff."
"They couldn't achieve anything more individually," added the former Celtics head coach. "But then none of them had ... team success, and you felt that with that group."
"And they were willing to do anything you said and they did that well for me, so when you get a team that buys into you ... and what we're trying to do and how we have to do it, then you're on your way," recalled Rivers, illuminating how he got the players to fully buy in from the rip.
"When I talk to businesses, I always say the same thing. That's not a one-day pitch. That's an everyday thing. We rented the dove boat the one day and went on the parade route, you know, before the season started. We went to Rome. We came up with the Ubuntu word. Every day was a reminder of what we were trying to do and what they wanted to do. I confessed that they wanted to do. You had to remind them at times, 'Wait a minute, shots don't matter.' Think about it, Ray, Paul, Kevin, each averaged 20 shots a night."
"Now with our team, that was impossible," said Rivers. "And so they had to give up something, and they all were willing to do that."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Doc Rivers on how 2007-08 Boston Celtics defied expectations
