In 1995, the Timberwolves drafted him straight out of high school.
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Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007 and was part of that franchise’s 2008 championship squad. After two seasons with the Nets, he returned to the Wolves in 2015.
The South Carolina native spent more than 13 seasons with the Timberwolves and was named Most Valuable Player in 2004, when he led the club to a Western Conference finals appearance that remains their best postseason showing ever.
The 15-time All-Star power forward told his fans to “stay tuned” in a black-and-white video posted to Instagram Friday afternoon.
Garnett informed the Timberwolves of his decision to retire Friday. “On behalf of the National Basketball Association family, I thank Kevin for his sustained excellence and the enormous impact he’s had on the game”.
“I would have absolutely been interested in bringing him here”.
The team also said that under National Basketball Association rules they could not comment further, citing a clause “which precludes a team from releasing certain medical information without a player’s consent”.
Garnett played in just 38 games last season due to knee and leg injuries and averaged just 3.2 points and 3.9 rebounds. Changes in the front office likely closed the door to Garnett one day joining ownership.
Thank you KG! Hands down one of the best to ever play this game.
The news comes with the Timberwolves first training camp under Tom Thibodeau set to begin Tuesday. “I’m not going to say too much about it, but once Flip passed away it threw a wrench into everything”. He did this while shooting 49 percent from the floor and playing just a shade under 40 minutes per game. And while he didn’t mention the word “retirement” directly, he added that he “didn’t expect this to be easy, ‘ right before the video ended with the word “Farewell” in the middle of the screen. I mean he’s quite aware of it, but it’s not keeping him up at night, so we’ll leave it at that”.
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After a 21-year-career, 14 in Minnesota, Garnett has averaged 17.8 points and 10 rebounds a game. He appeared in 35 games previous year, largely serving as a veteran leader and mentor during the worst season in Lakers history.
