In a career that has spanned a dozen years, six cities and countless teammates and coaches, Keyon Dooling has a rare perspective on life in the NBA. He’s a man who considers his thought carefully before he speaks. This is what he had to say about Kevin Garnet:

“Words can do him a disservice, because he means that much to our locker room. He’s the guy,” Dooling said. “He’s the guy who’s willing to have the tough conversations. He’s the guy who’s willing to accept responsibility. He’s the guy who’s quick to lift his teammates up. He’s the guy who’s quickest to divert attention or the praise from himself and praise others. Kevin Garnett is the best teammate in the history of the NBA. You’ve never seen a superstar teammate who truly loves and cares about every guy on the team. It’s such a pleasure.”

Since he’s come to Boston, Garnett has always chosen to lead away from the spotlight and prying eyes of the press. He’s not one to make showy speeches for public consumption. That role has never held much interest for him. Whatever he has to say, he prefers it be kept inside the inner sanctum of the locker room.

Back in 2008 when the Celtics struggled to fight through two tougher-than-expected playoff series against the Hawks and Cavs, Garnett gathered his team and told them to block out everything that was being said, all the noise, and keep each other close. It was the only way they were going to get through it, and that’s what they did. 

“Everything that comes out of his mouth toward the team is always the right thing,” Doc Rivers said. “It may not be well said in the way he says it, but it’s always the right thing. He’s as pure as I’ve ever coached, or been around anyone, to his team. I know he’s difficult for you guys at times. That’s who he is. He reminds me of Patrick Ewing in that way, because you don’t get to see who he really is. With a team, you couldn’t have a better guy in the locker room. It’s amazing.”

Garnett’s mantra remains refreshingly simple.

“Just giving everything I have,” he said. “None more, none less than that. Who cares what people say?” 

It would be one thing if Garnett was all talk, but he’s backed it up this season, more so than people acknowledge. Garnett scored a season-high 25 points in the Celtics’ 102-96 victory over the Bucks on Wednesday night, but box score numbers have never truly captured what he does on the court, especially this season when his minutes have been kept to a closely-monitored 30 per night.

“It’s amazing,” Rivers said. “Kevin’s old, Kevin is this, it’s all you hear. No one looks at his numbers. I’ll tell you what no one really looks at: his number per minutes played.”

For the record, Garnett is averaging 17 points on 13 shots per 36 minutes, just like he did last season and the season before that. His rebounds, his assists, his blocks and steals, his free throw attempts, almost everything you can count in a basketball game are essentially exactly as they’ve been the last few years. It’s that almost maniacal consistency that has defined Garnett’s production in the post knee-surgery phase of his career.

And defensively, he remains a master of angles and anticipation. He’s not perfect, as he’ll be the first to tell you, but there have been very few big men with the ability to defend the pick and roll as well as Garnett.

“As a guard he helps you so much because he re-routes the ball handler,” Dooling said. “He’s still one of, if not the best, pick and roll defender for big guys out there. It starts with his talk. Fundamentally, he has all the mechanics down on the show angles. He’s smart, he’s savvy, he’s loud. He really thinks the game.”

The Celtics aren’t a good defensive rebounding team. They foul too much and they don’t generate as many turnovers as they once did. Yet, they still rank fourth in points allowed per 100 possessions. They are more than 11 points better when Garnett is on the court than when he’s off, by far the best mark on the team. Their defense is based on team principles and there are few, if any, better at playing NBA team defense than Garnett.

Along with his consistency, what has stood out this season has been his somewhat remarkable durability. He’s missed only one game because of injury and hasn’t seemed as slow on the second night of back-to-backs as he has been in recent years. It’s something that no one on the team even wants to acknowledge.

“I’m not talking about that,” Rivers said. “I’m going to stay away from that subject.”

The Celtics, and Garnett, will have an interesting decision to make at the end of this season. It can never be said that Garnett hasn’t earned his money, but his days of being a $21 million player are over.

He still has great value if he wants to continue playing, and he may yet have great value to the Celtics, no matter the direction they eventually turn. Of all the veteran players, he still has wonderful chemistry with Rajon Rondo and as a floor-stretching big man, he’s invaluable to Rondo’s drive and kick game. But again, there’s so much more that he brings that never gets truly recognized.

“Have you ever seen him before a game not drenched in sweat?” Dooling said. “Have you ever seen him, no matter how hard it is for his body, have you ever seen him not bring his energy, his motor and his enthusiasm? He always brings that. That’s what you’ll remember about Kevin Garnett. He’ll be missed when he’s gone from this game. You won’t appreciate what he does night in, night out, in practice, in the locker room. He’s a once-in-a-century player.”