Kevin Garnett
Teams
Minnesota Timberwolves - 1995-07, 2015-16
Boston Celtics - 2007-13
Brooklyn Nets - 2013-15
Playoffs
Appearances - 14 (1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2008,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014)
Conference Finals - 4 (2004,2008,2010,2012)
NBA Finals - 2 (2008,2010)
Championships - 1 (2008)
Awards and Honors
MVP - 1 (2004)
Finals MVP - 0 (2008)
Defensive Player of the Year - 1 (2008)
All-NBA First Team - 4 (2000,2003,2004,2008)
All-NBA Second Team - 3 (2001,2002,2005)
All-NBA Third Team - 2 (1999,2006,2007,2008)
Hall of Fame - 2020
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Rebounds - #10
Total Steals - #19
Total Blocks - #20
Total Points - #21
Total Assists - #52
Rebounds Per Game - #58
Blocks Per Game - #88
League Leads
Total Rebounds (#1-2004,2005, #2-2003,2006,2007, #3-2000,2002, #5-2001)
Rebounds Per Game (#1-2004,2005,2006,2007, #2-2003, #3-2002, #4-2000)
Total Points (#1-2004)
Points Per Game (#3-2004)
Kevin Garnett moved from South Carolina to Chicago to live with his sister before his senior season of high school, and had a dominant senior year, averaging 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting .668 from the field, and after being told that his test scores wouldn't let him play in college, decided to enter the NBA Draft, where he was the #5 overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first player selected straight from high school in 20 years.
Minnesota never made the playoffs before Garnett's arrival, and they've only made it once since he left, but with him on the team, they made 8 straight playoff appearances beginning in 1997, his second season. That year, he averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, but Minnesota was swept in the first round of the playoffs, and their seasons would end the exact same way for the next 6 seasons as well.
In his 4th season, Garnett averaged 20.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, the first of 9 straight seasons where he would average at least 20 and 10. He was also named to an All-NBA Team that year for the first of 9 times in 10 seasons, making the Third Team that first time.
He was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2000 after averaging 22.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, then again 3 years later when he raised those averages to 23.0 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, but that season was the 7th in a row where the Wolves would lose in the first round of the playoffs. That season was notable for the fact that Garnett became the third player in history to lead his team in all 5 major stat categories, a club that has now grown to 5 members.
The next year, Minnesota added Sam Cassell to the team, and Garnett had the best year of his career. He averaged career highs of 24.2 points and 13.9 rebounds, leading the league in rebounding and scoring more points than any other player, though he came in #3 in scoring average. His efforts earned him the MVP award for the season, and in the playoffs they finally got past the first round, getting all the way to the Conference Finals before falling to the Lakers in 6 games.
Garnett led the league in rebounding in each of the next 3 seasons, but Minnesota missed the playoffs each time, and Garnett began to grow frustrated with the lack of progress. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007, and engineered the biggest single-season turnaround in history, earning the Defensive Player of the Year award and leading Boston to the Finals, where they beat the Lakers in 6 games, with Garnett putting up 26 points and 14 rebounds in the deciding game.
Garnett's averages dipped a little the next year, down to 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game before he suffered a knee injury in February that forced him to miss all but 4 games the rest of the season and the entire playoffs, and the Celtics lost in the second round without their big star.
When he returned the next year, his averages were about the same as the previous year, but with Garnett healthy the Celtics were able to overcome finishing with the 4th seed and made it back to the NBA Finals, where they faced the Lakers again, but this time they fell just short, with the Lakers pulling away in the 4th quarter of Game 7 to take home the championship.
After 3 more seasons with the Celtics in which the team failed to make a deep playoff run, Garnett was traded along with Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets. He averaged only 6.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game that season, and the Nets only made it to the second round. Midway through the next season, he was traded back to the Timberwolves.
He played only 5 games for the Wolves before being shut down for the season with a knee injury, and he came back for one last season, but his knee problems returned again, and he retired in 2016 after completing his 21st NBA season.
Garnett had very little playoff success during his best seasons, reaching the Conference Finals just once during his prime years, but he was still a star when he arrived in Boston, and he was the best player on the team that won him his only championship. He led the league in rebounds 4 times and won both an MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year award, and he is one of only 3 players among the top 100 all time in all 5 major stat categories, and is definitely one of the greatest players of all time.
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