Kevin Garnett

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Garnett was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and became the first player to be drafted directly out of high school since 1975. In his rookie season, the Timberwolves suffered through their seventh consecutive sub-30 win season and failed to make the playoffs. Before the 1996–97 season, the Timberwolves made a draft-day trade for point guard Stephon Marbury. During the season, Garnett posted improved averages. With a 40–42 record, the Timberwolves made their first playoff appearance in franchise history, but were swept 3–0 in the first round of the 1997 NBA Playoffs by the Houston Rockets. The source does not specify the Timberwolves' first playoff game wins.

In Their Own Story

The journey to Brooklyn began with a trade that reshaped the Eastern Conference landscape in 2013. Garnett, who had been a cornerstone of the Minnesota Timberwolves for over a decade since being drafted fifth overall in 1995, left the franchise he helped lead to eight consecutive playoff appearances. His departure from Boston was equally significant; after winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Celtics in 2007–08 and finishing third in MVP voting that season, he moved on to New York. The trade sent him and Paul Pierce together, a reunion of their championship-winning duo. Garnett's time in Brooklyn lasted until 2015, when another trade returned him to Minnesota. This period served as the final chapter of his playing career before he announced his retirement from professional basketball in September 2016.

Reader's Guide

Garnett was traded to the Celtics in 2007, helping guide them to the 2008 NBA Finals and beat the Los Angeles Lakers, while also finishing in third place for the MVP award. In 2013, Garnett was included in a second headline trade that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets with longtime Celtic Paul Pierce. In 2015, Garnett was traded back to Minnesota. He announced his retirement from professional basketball in September 2016. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Did You Know?

• Garnett is one of five NBA players to have won both the NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
• He was the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years.
• Garnett made his feature film debut in the 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems, playing a fictionalized version of himself.
• In high school, Garnett was named National High School Player of the Year by USA Today and Mr. Basketball for Illinois.