Kevin Garnet
Kevin Garnett (born May 19, 1976) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 220 lb (100 kg) power forward/small forward[1][2] is regarded as one of the best all-around players in the game today. His accomplishments include having been voted Most Valuable Player of the 2003-04 NBA season, being named to ten All-Star teams, and being named to eight All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams.[3]
After graduating from Farragut Career Academy, he was the fifth player drafted in 1995. He became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years. His nicknames include "The Big Ticket", "KG", "The Kid", and formerly "The Franchise" (after being known as the Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise player)
Early years
Garnett was born in Mauldin, South Carolina to Shirley Garnett and O'Lewis McCullough.[5]In his first three high school years, Garnett played for Mauldin High School. However, during the summer prior to his senior year of high school, Kevin was in the general vicinity of a fight between black and white students. Although not directly involved, Garnett was arrested. Due to the racially charged incident and fearful of being a target, Garnett decided to leave Mauldin.[6] He transferred to Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois for his senior year of high school. He led Farragut to a 28-2 record and was named National High School Player of the Year by USA Today. He was named Mr. Basketball for the State of Illinois after averaging 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 6.5 blocks while shooting 66.7% from the field. In four years of high school, Garnett posted an impressive 2,533 points, 1,807 rebounds and 739 blocked shots. He was named the Most Outstanding Player at the McDonald's All-American Game after registering 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots, and then declared himself eligible for the 1995 NBA Draft.[4] Garnett played alongside Ronnie Fields in high school, who also followed a professional career.
NBA career
1995-97: First years
Garnett was drafted with the fifth pick of the 1995 NBA Draft by the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves. After joining the NBA for the 1989-90 season, the Timberwolves had not won more than 29 games in any season.[7] In Garnett's rookie season, the Timberwolves were in the midst of a transition phase; they replaced Bill Blair with Flip Saunders as head coach early in the season and made several trades. Garnett initially came off the bench in his rookie year, but moved into the starting lineup soon after Saunders became head coach. In his rookie year, Garnett and fellow newcomer Tom Gugliotta carried the scoring load. Garnett did not immediately leap to stardom as later prep-to-pro prospects such as Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard would, but he did have a very respectable rookie year. He averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and was voted into the All-Rookie Second Team.[3] Despite having some promising players, the Timberwolves suffered through their seventh consecutive sub-30 win season and failed to make the playoffs. At the time Garnett was the youngest NBA player in history at 19 years and 11 months of age.[4]
Before the next season, the Timberwolves made a draft-day trade for playmaking point guard Stephon Marbury of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. During the season Garnett posted improving averages of 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.7 steals.[3] He also had two games where he registered eight blocks.[4] With a 40-42 record, the Timberwolves made their first playoff appearance in franchise history, Garnett and Gugliotta made their first All-Star appearances, and Marbury established himself as a valuable young lead guard. However, the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, swept the Timberwolves 3-0 in the first round of the 1997 NBA Playoffs.
1997-2001: Franchise player
During the 1997-98 NBA season, the Timberwolves and Garnett agreed on a six-year contract extension that was worth an unparalleled $126 million.[4] This was met with shock around the NBA, and the Timberwolves were used as scapegoats for the lockout that occurred the next season. The contract was a risky move and many pundits speculated that the deal would make it impossible for the Wolves to sign new players or even keep their own. Despite the furor over his new contract, Garnett continued to improve, averaging 18.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. Again, he was an All-Star, and the Timberwolves finished with their first winning record in franchise history (45-37 for the season). For the second consecutive year the young Timberwolves bowed out of the playoffs in the first round, this time losing 2-3 against the Seattle SuperSonics and superstar point guard Gary Payton. The 2 wins against the Sonics marked the Wolves' first-ever playoff game wins. The off-season started poorly for the Timberwolves though as 20 point per game scorer Tom Gugliotta left to the Phoenix Suns.
In the lockout-shortened season that followed, Garnett broke through as a superstar. Putting up stats of 20.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game,[3] he was named to the All-NBA Third Team. However, midway through the season Stephon Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets after a dispute over his possible contract extension. Although the Wolves received two-time All-Star Terrell Brandon in return, they were not able to overcome the discord and limped into the playoffs as the 8th seed with a 25-25 record. The Wolves were defeated in the first round again, this time losing 1-3 to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs who were led by young superstar and eventual NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan. In the next season, Garnett continued his notable play, averaging 22.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals per game and made the first of his three All-NBA First Team appearances.[3] Assisted by sharpshooting rookie forward Wally Szczerbiak and steady veteran Brandon, the Wolves posted a franchise-best 50-32 record, but succumbed in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1.
In the 1999-00 NBA season, Timberwolves' guard Malik Sealy was killed by a drunk driver and the NBA ruled that the free agent signing of Joe Smith was illegal. The NBA punished the team for the illegal signing by stripping the team of three first-round draft picks, fining Glen Taylor (the owner of the team) $3.5 million, and banning general manager Kevin McHale for one year. Garnett led the Wolves to a 47-35 record and made the All-NBA Second Team, but again, the Wolves did not survive the first round of the Playoffs, losing to the Spurs 3-1.
2001-04: Playoff success
In the 2001-02 NBA season, Garnett posted another notable season, his averages of 21.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game enough for another All-NBA Second Team nomination. However, the Timberwolves bowed out in the first round for the sixth consecutive time, this time getting swept 3-0 against the Dallas Mavericks of Michael Finley, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. In the next season, Garnett had one of the best seasons of his career, his 23.0 ppg / 13.0 rpg / 6.0 apg / 1.6 bpg / 1.4 spg season earning him his second All-NBA First Team nomination and second place in the MVP voting.[4] The Timberwolves posted a good 51-31 record, but for the seventh consecutive time, they did not make it out of the first round, this time losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 2.
In the 2003-04 NBA season, things finally seemed to come together for Garnett. In past years, the Wolves had practically been a one-man show, but now, the Timberwolves made two valuable acquisitions: highly talented, but volatile swingman Latrell Sprewell and the seasoned two-time NBA champion Sam Cassell, who supplanted Troy Hudson at point guard. In addition, defensive center Ervin Johnson complemented the often-inconsistent pivot Michael Olowokandi. Powered by the best supporting cast in his career, Garnett averaged in the season 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, earning his first Most Valuable Player award.[3] With a franchise-record 58-24, the Wolves stormed into the playoffs, and finally vanquished their playoff bane by defeating the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the first round. After disposing of the strong Sacramento Kings 4-3 in the Western Conference Semifinals, Garnett and the Timberwolves met the Lakers. Against the Lakers, playmaker Cassell went down with a back injury. With reserve point guard Hudson also injured, the Timberwolves alternated between third playmaker Darrick Martin and shooting guard Fred Hoiberg at the "one", or even running Garnett himself as point forward and even as a real point guard. The Lakers pulled off a 4-2 win and the Timberwolves have not recovered since.
2004-07: Frustration
In the 2004-05 NBA season, the Timberwolves experienced serious internal friction as Cassell and Sprewell pokered for better contracts and Hudson was unhappy as a reserve. Garnett was named to the All-NBA Second Team,[3] but with a mediocre 44-38 record, the Timberwolves failed to make the playoffs after eight consecutive years. The 2005-06 NBA season brought more frustration for Garnett. With Sprewell and Cassell refusing to stay and stuck with a mediocre squad, the Timberwolves skidded to a 33-49 record. Despite Garnett's play, the team logged the second worst record since Garnett joined the franchise. On 10 May 2007 Garnett was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In the 2006-07 season he buried a game winning jumper at the buzzer vs the Sixers which was the answer to Andre Iguodala's jumper at the buzzer the previous season.
During the 2007 off-season, Taylor admitted that although he planned on retaining Garnett, he would finally listen to trade offers [1]. Garnett's name was mentioned in various trade rumors involving the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns,and Dallas Mavericks [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
2007: Boston Celtics
On July 31, Kevin Garnett, now wearing #5, was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick (top 3 protected) and the 2009 first-round pick Minnesota had traded to Boston in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade of 2006.[8] The 7-for-1 deal constitutes the largest amount of players traded for a single player in league history.[9] At the time of the trade, Garnett had the longest current tenure of any player in the NBA with one team, having played for the Timberwolves for his first 12 seasons (a total of 927 games). Garnett is cited at ESPN.com as saying he is proud to be a part of the Celtics, and hopes to continue its proud tradition and basketball success.[10][11][12] On the day the trade was announced, Garnett signed a three-year $60 million contract extension that will start after his current deal runs out in two years.
On August 1, the day after signing his Celtics contract, Garnett threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park prior to a Red Sox-Orioles game. Garnett has claimed to be a long-time Red Sox fan.[13]
Personal life
Garnett married long time girlfriend Brandi Padilla during a private ceremony in California. The wedding was the reason he did not take part in the Olympic games. The marriage also made Garnett the brother-in-law of music producer Jimmy Jam Harris (see Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis). Garnett is also a cousin to former Los Angeles Lakers player Shammond Williams[14] and is the half brother of Louis McCullough, who plays for the ABA's Syracuse Raging Bullz.
In November 2005, Garnett donated $1.2 million to Oprah's Angel Network to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.[8]
He is a soccer fan, being known to follow the English Premier League, as well as having been spotted at various Los Angeles Galaxy games.
In the New England area, Garnett is a resident of Concord, Massachusetts, holding a manse worth roughly $4.6 million.[15]
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