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9/23/2016 0 Comments

"The Franchise" retires

To be continued...

A video posted by Kevin Garnett (@tic_pix) on Sep 23, 2016 at 2:42pm PDT

By: Ryan Schmidt

​Kevin Garnett has officially retired from the NBA.

However, the Kevin Garnett Era in Minnesota ended for me April 9th, 2007 vs the Toronto Raptors at Target Center. KG scored 17 points on 7 of 23 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 6 assists. Garnett was traded just 2 months later to Boston. On February 25th, 2015 Garnett made his return to his first NBA home. He had 5 points and 8 rebounds in just over 18 minutes of play but the moment his name was announced to the capacity crowd that night it felt special. Unlike the end of the Garnett era game in 2007, 2015 felt great. It felt as if Flip Saunders brought Garnett back for another purpose.

Saunders was the one in 1995 who drafted the phenom fresh out of high school. Sports Illustrated that year put Garnett on their cover and titled it“Ready or Not.” When my older brother bought that magazine and I read about KG, that was the player I was hoping the Timberwolves would draft. We never imagined how much he would change the NBA.

It was just a few years earlier when I became a real Wolves fan because of another player the Wolves drafted. That player was JR Rider. Rider excited the fan base with his dunks but they were also tired of his attitude. When Garnett show up, we didn’t know he’d be the guy Minnesota fans gravitate towards. Only a few short games into his rookie year, and stories, which now have became legend, demonstrate Garnett as a tireless worker. Jonathan Abrams details stories in his book,‘Boys Among Men,' of Garnett as a teenager in Chicago and his first year in Minnesota.

The final two years of Kevin Garnett in Minnesota weren’t exactly magical. He played in just 43 games and some of those games there wasn’t a whole lot of minutes for him. I know many including myself wondered aloud what Garnett at 38 years old would bring to a young promising Wolves roster. Other than nostalgia for us fans who grew up watching him, it didn’t seem like Garnett would be a torchbearer.

But his encouragement on the bench to younger players could be seen often. His teachings were routinely praised and welcomed. Garnett’s fire has been seen in Karl-Anthony Towns. Rubio constantly displays signs of his competitiveness. Zach LaVine was in awe of him, â€œHe was playing in this league before I was born!”, and â€œwhen you see him in practice and see how he works, it’s just a blessing that we have him."

Thank you for everything my brother. You know how much I'm gonna miss playing with you and just simply having you around. Congrats on having one of the greatest careers the game has ever seen. We talked. I know what I must do. I'll take it from here.

A photo posted by Karl-Anthony Towns (@karltowns) on Sep 23, 2016 at 7:31pm PDT

Thank you KG !!! Hands down one of the best to ever play this game. I learned what hard work really means. Great teammate. It was a dream come true to play next to you. What an amazing career the one you had. I enjoyed watching you play every single game. Thank you again BigTix 2️⃣1️⃣

A photo posted by Ricky Rubio (@ruuufio) on Sep 23, 2016 at 3:31pm PDT

KG! I was given the opportunity to play with the realist OG in the league. Your words of wisdom will forever remain with me throughout my career. Shoutout to a real one! LEGEND.

A photo posted by Andrew Wiggins (@22wiggins) on Sep 23, 2016 at 7:51pm PDT

Big DOG, Thanks for everything! Like a big brother in the locker room and out. Enjoy your retirement, definitely well deserved for all your hard work. #changedthegame

A photo posted by Zach LaVine (@zachlavine8) on Sep 23, 2016 at 6:12pm PDT


To understand what Garnett means to the Minnesota Timberwolves fan base can be summed up in three parts. Before, during, and after. Before Kevin Garnett the Timberwolves won 126 games and lost 366. The Wolves lost 60 games in every single season except one before Garnett. From 1995 to 2007 the Wolves won 501 games. They made the playoffs in eight of those seasons culminating with a #1 seed 2003-2004 season and Garnett’s MVP. Since 2007-08 season to now the Wolves have won more 30 games twice. They lost more than 60 games in four seasons after Garnett.

If you breakdown every bit and piece of Timberwolves history before, during and after KG you’d see the shortcomings and missteps of a franchise. You’d also come to a greater understanding of why one player meant so much to one team. You’d see some parts of that fan base believe KG didn’t do enough. You’d see many counter that claim that KG never had enough. One thing nobody ever will claim was KG didn’t try hard enough.
​
The last thing I’ll leave you with other than "Thank you KG for the 20 year career", is Kevin Garnett’s last NBA dunk. By the way, you'll want to make sure you watch all of the last video to see Karl Anthony Towns’ excitement.

KG slow mo dunk #nba pic.twitter.com/LFECktOsxJ

— StreetHistory (@streethistory) December 8, 2015
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