Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers spoke with the media ahead of his team's Thursday night visit to Boston to face the Celtics. He commented on Kevin Garnett and his impact on the Celtics organization. Rivers credited KG for spearheading a much-needed culture change upon his arrival in the summer of 2007.

In KG's first season in Boston under Rivers he won Defensive Player of the Year and led the team (along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) to the biggest turnaround in single-season history, as the C's jumped from 24 to 66 wins and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games to win the title. Kevin Garnett put up 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and an insanely good 94 Defensive Rating in 2007-08.

Rivers previously showered heavy praise on Kevin Garnett last August, calling him the “greatest superstar team-builder that I've seen in the history of the game.”

He also compared his current superstar, Kawhi Leonard, to Garnett over the summer: “From afar, he reminds me a lot of Kevin [Garnett],” Rivers said to the Boston Globe. “He reminds me of a quiet version of Kevin. Imagine a Kevin Garnett that didn’t talk — his actions are why we followed Kevin. As verbal as Kevin was and as expressive as he was, if he didn’t follow through with his actions, none of that verbal stuff would have worked. So to me, from afar, he reminds me a lot of Kevin that way in that he tends to want to show you by example. That’s the best leadership.”

Rivers did not share his thoughts on Kevin Garnett's performance in Uncut Gems.

The Clippers (37-16) and Celtics (37-17) both sit third in their respective conferences heading into the All-Star Break. Kevin Garnett will probably be watching this final game before All-Star Weekend in Chicago.