The Big Ticket’s jersey is headed to the rafters.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Friday that Kevin Garnett’s No. 21 jersey will be retired on Feb. 27 after a game against the Boston Celtics.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer spent 14 of his 21 NBA seasons with the T-Wolves.
“Over the course of his career, Kevin Garnett became much more than the greatest player in Timberwolves history. He became the embodiment of what it means to compete, to lead and to represent Minnesota,” team owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez said in a statement. “Bringing Kevin back to the organization as Team Ambassador has allowed us to celebrate his legacy in a new and meaningful way, and retiring No. 21 is the ultimate recognition of everything he has meant to this franchise and our fans. We are thrilled to celebrate this incredible moment with Kevin, his family, our fans and everyone who helped make his legacy possible.”
Garnett is the team’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and is the only player in history to hold all of those marks with one team.
A native of Greenville, SC, Garnett was taken with the fifth overall selection of the 1995 NBA Draft by the T-Wolves. He would go on to play 1,462 games with the T-Wolves, Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, winning a championship in 2008 in Boston and claiming an NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2004. Garnett was named to nine All-NBA teams.
He finished his career averaging 17.8 points on .497 shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 34.5 minutes a night.
Internationally, Garnett was a member of the United States team that won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He was inducted into Springfield in 2020.
