When you think of the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves, chances are you think of Kevin Garnett.
Garnett began his Hall of Fame career with the Timberwolves, who, in 1995 used the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft to select him out of high school.
Over 14 seasons with the franchise, Garnett made himself a household name, earning 10 All-Star selections and winning league MVP for the 2003-04 season.
Six years post-retirement, Garnett is set to have his No. 5 retired by the Boston Celtics but the Timberwolves have yet to honor the greatest player in franchise history by raising No. 21 to the Target Center rafters. Putting aside that championship with Boston in 2008, Garnett's accolades with the Timberwolves dwarf those he accumulated with the Celtics.
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It begs the question... why haven't the Timberwolves retired Garnett's number yet? Recent developments suggest a resolution might come sooner than later.
Why isn't Kevin Garnett's number retired by the Timberwolves?
In a 2020 interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, Garnett was asked why his jersey isn't hanging from the rafters in Minnesota, to which he cited issues with Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor in his response.
"Glen knows where I’m at," Garnett said. "I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there."
Garnett, who returned to Minnesota in 2015 to finish his career, added context in sharing that Taylor went back on his word after the passing of Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders.
Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip. For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight up person, straight up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him.
He maintained that he will continue to harbor love for the state of Minnesota and the Minneapolis community but "at this point, I don’t want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him," calling Taylor a "snake" for what transpired in 2015.
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Will the Timberwolves retire Kevin Garnett's number?
If Garnett's strained relationship with Taylor is the only hindrance, his number could be retired in Minnesota as soon as 2023.
In July of 2021, it was announced that businessman Marc Lore and retired baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez would be purchasing the Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx from Taylor, beginning with an initial transfer of 20 percent ahead of the 2021-22 season.
— Minnesota Timberwwwwwwolves (@Timberwolves) July 21, 2021
Per the terms of the sale, Lore and Rodriguez will become controlling owners of the franchise in 2023, which could open the door for Garnett to have his number retired by the Timberwolves.
Kevin Garnett career stats, records with Timberwolves
Garnett is unquestionably the greatest player in Timberwolves history and it's not close. His 139.8 Win Shares are more than the next two players (Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Love) combined.
- 1st in points scored (19,201 points)
- 1st in rebounds (10,718)
- 1st in assists (4,216)
- 1st in blocks (1,590)
- 1st in steals (1,315)
- 1st in games played (970)
- 1st in minutes played (36,189)
