LOS ANGELES-Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett is calling time on his National Basketball Association career after 21 seasons, posting a video on Instagram saying “farewell” and “thank you” to fans who have backed him since 1995.
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Garnett was encouraged by friend, confidant and former coach Flip Saunders to sign a two-year, $16 million contract with the Timberwolves in 2015.
Garnett played in just 38 games last season due to knee and leg injuries and averaged just 3.2 points and 3.9 rebounds.
Garnett, who played a total of 50,418 minutes (third all-time), scored 26,071 points (17th all-time) and grabbed 14,662 rebounds (ninth all-time) in his career.
Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007 and was part of that franchise’s 2008 championship squad.
Garnett played nearly two full seasons with the Nets, starting in 2013-14, and then ultimately being traded back to the Timberwolves in a deal that would bring Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn. Known as the “Big Ticket”, Garnett could handle the ball, shoot it from outside, take an opponent off the dribble and post up as well while being able to guard all five positions.
The news comes with the Timberwolves first training camp under Tom Thibodeau set to begin Tuesday. But so far so good.
In 2004, Garnett led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals and won the NBA MVP Award. I’ve never met such a relentless competitor or such a great teammate.
“In Garnett”s second season the Wolves qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, beginning a streak of eight straight postseason appearances.
Saunders was sacked as Timberwolves’ coach less than two years after that playoff run ended, and when he returned as team president, he convinced Garnett to waive his no-trade clause in February of 2015. “I just know he’d be a great asset to any team”.
When Garnett first arrived in Boston, then-coach Doc Rivers remembered thinking “No one can be this intense”.
So much has changed since.
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He was drafted out of high school in 1995 and his success helped usher in an era of players foregoing college to leap into the NBA – LeBron James and Bryant chief among them. Garnett torched the Bucks time and time again in his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves especially, putting up some insane numbers against Milwaukee.
