Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Garnett - Minnesota Timberwolves
Before Anthony Edwards, there were no questions over who was the greatest Minnesota Timberwolves player of all time. There was only one answer. It was Kevin Garnett. The end. And let’s be real, KG is still the right answer
In his 14 seasons with the Wolves, Garnett piled up 19,201 points, 10,718 rebounds, 5,445 assists, 2,037 blocks, 10 All-Star games, 8 All-NBA teams, 5 All-Defense and 1 NBA MVP award (2003-04).
Kevin Garnett obliterating defenders for a minute straight.
Just FILTHY. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/ZaudnRvLnw
— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) April 7, 2020
For context, Edwards just surpassed 10,000 points last season and he needs six more All-NBA teams to catch up to his now 50-year-old predecessor. Ant will need to stay in Minnesota for another decade to get the 8,000 rebounds he’d need to catch KG.
And yet, more than a decade since he retired in 2015-16, Kevin Garnett’s No. 21 jersey still isn’t hanging in the rafters at Target Center, thanks to KG’s intense hatred for former MN Timberwolves owner, Glen Taylor.
Finally, Kevin Garnett jersey retirement date officially set
This season, that changes. A couple of months ago, the team announced that Garnett’s jersey retirement would happen at some point this season. Then Thursday, Dane Moore reported the date to be February 28.
And on Friday… the Wolves made it official.
THE DATE IS SET. pic.twitter.com/wvmXvSCKem
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) August 14, 2026
The Wolves selected KG with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. At the time, it was one of the more controversial picks in NBA history.
Unlike what we saw for much of the next couple decades after, only two players had ever skipped college and played in the NBA straight out of high school. In fact, before Minnesota went all-in on Garnett in 1995, it hadn’t happened since Bill Willoughby and Darryl Dawkins did it 20 years earlier, in 1975.
Once Garnett started playing basketball, people quickly forgot about the history he made on draft night. By the time he was unwillingly traded to Boston during the 2007 offseason, KG had set every record in the Wolves’ record books.