When Kevin Garnett was traded from the Wolves back on July 31, 2007, I was 17 years old. Just one month away from my senior year at ROCORI High School. So many questions bouncing around in my undeveloped brain. Where to go to college? What about my friends who were going away to college in the next two weeks? Would I ever see them again? Would my parents ever find out about the case of Bud Light that me and my buddy Nick hid in the garage?
The only thing going through my mind, though, was how I was going to get my hands on a KG Boston jersey.
Sure, I was upset that KG was leaving. He was all I knew when it came to Minnesota basketball. My favorite players growing up were KG, Anthony Peeler, Terrell Brandon, Sam Cassell and Reggie Slater (don't ask). There was nothing better than KG pounding his chest with his fist, rocking that black No. 21 jersey. Throwing up chalk before the game. Yelling emphatically after a big play. Sometimes yelling at a teammate with eyes nearly as big as the basketball.
Garnett was the player every kid wanted to be during pick-up ball. Unfortunately for me, my friend Cory always claimed KG before I had the chance. I was stuck with Wally Szczerbiak. Wally was great and all, but he wasn't KG.
No one was KG.
At 24, most of what KG is to me is legend. When he was drafted in 1995, I was five years old. I think I was still throwing my food behind the couch, trying to convince my mom that I ate all of my dinner.
My first true memory of watching KG was at my great grandma’s house with my grandpa. The year was 2000. This was easy to figure out because I remember how much I liked LaPhonso Ellis and he played just one season (2000-01) for the Wolves. Ellis averaged just 9.4 points per game that season, so it’s more probable that I just liked his name rather than actually liking him as a player.
After getting into the sport, I made it my goal to get every basketball card ever made (much to my mother's dismay). After buying a pack from every Target, putting plastic sleeves around the good ones (normally just the shiny ones) and memorizing the stats and bios of each player, I realized something… Kevin Garnett was one hell of a player.
The next few years were magical for any Minnesota Timberwolves fan. We saw the Wolves rattle off 50 win seasons. We saw KG win the All-Star Game MVP along with winning the regular season MVP.
The way the Vikings took over in Minnesota in 1998 with Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Randall Cunningham, that’s what happened during the 2003-04 season with the Timberwolves. KG was the main man. Then there was Cassell who joined the team replacing Troy Hudson (better basketball player than hip-hop artist). Cassell was the veteran point guard the team needed. The team also added swingman Latrell Sprewell.
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In ’98, you weren’t cool if you didn’t have a Vikings jersey of some sort.
In 2004, the same went for the Wolves. I had four KG jerseys. Three were blue. Every garage sale I went to, if there was a KG jersey, I was buying it. It didn’t matter the size. It smelt like cigarettes and booze? No worries. I just needed the jersey.
(I still have one from a garage sale at my apartment in Minneapolis. After 11 years, it still smells exactly what you would think a garage sale would smell like.)
This was Garnett’s team, but he finally had some help. This was the year, we all thought. He averaged 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, five assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He literally did it all.
The Wolves beat the Nuggets in Round One that year. The real series, though, was against the Sacramento Kings in the next round.
The Kings were a powerhouse with Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac and Brad Miller.
In one of the best series I've watched live, the Wolves took down the Kings in seven games, with a Game 7 win coming at home. What Garnett did in that series was unbelievable. He played 44 minutes per night and averaged 23.9 points. 15.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.7 steals.
What happened next wasn’t fun and probably ultimately led to Garnett’s departure. The Wolves fell in six games to Shaq, Kobe and the Lakers.
The Wolves never got back to the Western Conference and the team ended up deciding a total rebuild was the next step, sending Garnett to a team where he had a chance to win a championship.
During Garnett’s first season in Boston, I ran the school market at school during third and fourth hour (my GPA was still very mediocre). I made sure there were enough packets of Combos and M&Ms for the rest of my colleagues. What I remember most from that wasn't sneaking a soda and a Snickers from time-to-time. It was watching SportsCenter on the TV in the cafeteria. This is about the time when ESPN stopped playing every team’s highlights and just focused in on what the national pundits were talking about. This was just fine for me because it meant constant coverage on Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the Celtics.
Up to that moment, I had never met KG. I went to a few games every year, but never even got near the court. That didn’t matter. Every time KG talked to media members, I saw that same intensity that he had in Minnesota. It was almost like he was talking to Wolves fans at times.
Garnett and the Celtics won the 2008 NBA title. There wasn’t a parade in downtown Minneapolis. We didn’t get a ring with the Wolves logo on it. But a little bit of us felt like that was our title, too.
Seeing Garnett back at the Target Center during Tuesday's press conference was a bit surreal. After the trade was announced, there was a bit of shock. There were rumors, but wow. This was happening. Seeing Garnett back in practice, wearing the new T’Wolves gear looked a little odd.
But at the same time, it looked perfect.
He was chatting with Ricky Rubio and had a big old smile on his face. He put his arm around head coach Flip Saunders, the coach he grew up with in this league. During the press conference, he called out old reporters that he remembered from his first stint ('What's up, Perk?!). He even gave Sid Hartman a hug (after Hartman bowed down to KG, something only Sid could pull off).
It was almost like Garnett never left.
There are a lot of 13 and 14-year-old Timberwolves fans out there today. These kids don’t remember Garnett. They’ve heard many tales of KG, but they weren't there first hand. And really, that stinks. But they will get a chance to get a glimpse of it during Garnett’s last few moments as a professional basketball player. That’s pretty special.
I have a little brother who is in fourth grade. His Kevin Garnett will probably be Andrew Wiggins.
Things truly have gone full circle form 1995.
There was a reason I wanted that Celtics KG jersey. I didn’t like the Celtics, but like a lot of kids, I felt like a piece of me also went to Boston. When you’re 17 years old, you still have that fan in you. When you grow up, some of that fades away. You realize some of the guys aren’t superheroes.
Garnett isn’t a superhero. That’s true.
He is the definition of Minnesota basketball for most people in this state. And that's still pretty special.