Keep 35 Retired

I regret that I never had the pleasure and the honor to coach Reggie, because to me he personified everything the Celtics should be.

Red Auerbach

The Celtics keep their past very close to their present. There is no organization in the NBA certainly, and perhaps nowhere else in professional sports, that has cultivated the mystique that the Celtics have.

I believe the Celtics would do themselves a disservice by negotiating over retired numbers, starting with Kevin Durant and Reggie Lewis.

If some combination of ownership and management decided that Reggie’s number could be worn again, then who exactly would get to make that call for any other number that might come along? There’s no commission in charge of Boston’s retired numbers because up till now there’s been a pretty clear understanding that ‘retired’ means ‘nobody can wear this number.’

If you’ve set the ‘unretirement’ precedent, then what happens if some other free agent insists that he be allowed to wear 6? 33? 17?

If you declare that some retired numbers are “off limits” and others are not, then what precisely is the criteria for making that distinction?

Are you going to start resorting to criteria that insists that because some players were objectively better than others (e.g. Russell vs. Parrish), that some numbers are more deserving of permanent retirement?

And wouldn’t drawing a distinction between retired numbers flat out contradict the egalitarian way in which the Celtics present them and the way in which they’ve handled retired numbers? While there will always be arguments over relative merit in fan conversations, barroom arguments and internet comments sections, retired numbers in Boston have always been binary. If your number is retired, you have the same distinction as anyone else with a retired number.

And then there are the circumstances surrounding Reggie’s number that are wholly unique, and at least to my mind, worthy of even greater deference. Reggie is the only Celtic captain who never won a championship (Rondo won one before getting the “C”). When you look at the other retired numbers, those players received recognition for what they did for the Celtics. Reggie’s number is retired more for what he might have done and who he was.

Retiring Reggie’s number was a positive affirmation of certain things that Red Auerbach believed in over and above the value of winning championships. For that reason, bringing it back into circulation because Lewis wasn’t ‘as valuable’ a contributor to Celtics history is effectively a repudiation of the intangibles that Red recognized.

Yes, Reggie’s mother has said she wouldn’t object to Kevin Durant wearing Reggie’s number, but while her opinion is valid, she’s not the custodian of the Celtics’ legacy. Imagine the opposite scenario–imagine Ray Allen’s mom saying that she wouldn’t object to having Ray Allen’s number retired. Would that be considered decisive? Then why would a similar source be decisive when arguing the opposite?

Additionally, there is precedent for the Celtics keeping retired numbers retired, even with player numbers that are deeply meaningful.

Kevin Garnett wore #21 at Minnesota out of respect for his close friend Malik Sealy. The Celtics didn’t un-retire Bill Sharman’s number in order for Kevin to continue to honor Sealy. And while Garnett may have initially had misgivings about that, ask him today what he thinks about Celtics’ tradition.

Undoubtedly the Celtics can work with Durant to find another way to honor Chuck Craig, Durant’s mentor and basketball coach who was murdered at age 35.

Reggie Lewis died 23 years ago. His number was retired 21 years ago. Sitting idly in the present, and thinking only of the opportunity to land Kevin Durant, one might be inclined to discount Reggie’s career and the tragedy of his death. Doing so really misses the point.

Discounting history effectively leaves Boston with zero championships and Cleveland with one.

Take some time to watch the Reggie Lewis number retirement videos below, and reflect on the ways in which what you see there differentiates the Celtics from other teams–and then ask how much of that should be discarded.

Retirement ceremony part 1:

https://youtu.be/2I_fpGH_qgI?t=137

Part 2:

https://youtu.be/y3rVuuHrqFc

(FWIW, I would be very surprised if KD were to insist on keeping #35 if he decided to come to the Celtics, and I would be equally surprised if the Celtics would volunteer to make it available)