Without debate, there is no date in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 31-year history more important than June 28, 1995.
Gathered at Rogers Centre in Toronto, the Wolves held the fifth pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. The team's options following the Washington Bullets' selection of Rasheed Wallace at No. 4 included Bryant Reeves, the standout big man from Oklahoma State; Damon Stoudamire, the zippy point guard from Arizona; or UCLA's Ed O'Bannon, who had recently led the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA Championship.
Instead, the Wolves did something that hadn't been done since 1975: they took a chance on a high school entrant, selecting 6-11 forward Kevin Garnett from Farragut Academy in Chicago.
The rest, as they say, is history.
While in Minnesota, Garnett led the Timberwolves to eight consecutive playoff appearances while earning the NBA's 2004 Most Valuable Player award, 10 NBA All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA nominations, and eight All-Defensive Team nods along the way. The 'Big Ticket' returned to the Wolves in February 2015 following stints with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, and retired after the 2015-16 NBA season as the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and games played.
Garnett was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, alongside contemporaries Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Induction has been delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.