Kevin Maurice Garnett is a former professional basketballer famed for his out-and-out dunking ability and top draw athleticism. He was also a versatile player capable of holding the power forward and center roles on the court. He was also popular for his intensity in defensive transitions.
In 2020, Garnett became one of five NBA players to have won both the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
He began his career at the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995 before playing for the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. Garnett called time on his career in 2016 during a second stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Alongside Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Dirk Nowitzki, he is the player with the second-most seasons played in the NBA.
- Early Life
Garnett was born on May 19, 1976, in Greenville, South Carolina to Shirley Garnett as the second of his mother’s three children. He grew up with his grandfather who he didn’t particularly have a good relationship with after his mother’s relationship with his father was cut short following his birth.
Nicknamed as KG by his initials and standing a massive six feets and eleven inches tall, Garnett developed an affinity with basketball while attending Hillcrest Middle School, although he did not play organized basketball until high school.
KG spent his first his first three high school years at Maudlin where he broke into the bathroom team before transferring to Farragut Career Academy in Chicago’s, for his senior year of high school. This was after he was involved in a racial brawl in Maudlin which ultimately prompted his departure.
Garnett led Farragut to a 28-2 record and became National High School Player of the Year. He was also 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 66.8% from the field. In four years of high school, Garnett posted an impressive 2,553 points, 1,809 rebounds and 737 blocked shots.
- Steady Rise to the Top
Garnett made history when he got when he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995. Drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft he became the first player to be drafted directly out of high school since 1975.
Despite being in his rookie years, KG became an important player for the team as he shared the scoring load with fellow newcomer Tom Gugliotta. In the final 42 games of the year, averaged 14 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.26 blocks as a starter. He made it into the All-Rookie Second Team on averages of 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Alongside Gugliotta, KG made their first All-Star appearances in the 1996/97 season, the same year the Timberwolves made their first playoff appearance in franchise history with 40-42 record.
After protracted talks, Garnett and the Timberwolves agreed a six-year extension worth $126 million which raised eyebrows and redefined the business side of the Championship especially between players and owners. His stay at the Timberwolves lasted over a decade before he eventually got traded to the Boston Celtics in a 7-for-1 deal which constitutes the largest number of players traded for a single player in league history.
At the time of the trade, Garnett was the longest current tenure of any player in the NBA with one team, having played for the Timberwolves for his first 12 seasons, featuring in a total of 927 games.
On March 8, 2008, Garnett surpassed the 20,000-point career mark, becoming the 32nd player in NBA history to reach the mark with a layup in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies. His NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2007/08 season was the only major award a Celtic player had not claimed since the franchise’s foundation in 1946. More history was rewritten when helped the Celtics to a 17th championship title. He led the team with 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
With so many pages of history rewritten and new ones created during his time with the Celtics, the Celtics retired Garnett’s number 5 jersey on March 13, 2022 in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Just six months after he moved to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013, Garnett surpassed 14,000 career rebounds, becoming only the tenth player in NBA history to do so. The record helped KG joinKareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone as the only players to reach 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds, and 5,000 assists.
His leadership and experience in a young, star-studded line up of players was invaluable in Brooklyn before returning to the Timberwolves in 2015 where he ended his stellar 21-year career.
- Kevin Garnett Net Worth
Kevin Garnett is believed to have an estimated net worth of up to 25 million USD earned through his fortune from his professional career, endorsements and other businesses. KG’s take home in his final NBA season was 12 million USD.
Outside of his NBA career, Kevin is engaged several globally-reputed brands, including Adidas, Nike, AND1 amongst others. In 2003, Garnett signed a life-time deal with Adidas. However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The basketball Hall of Famer and former Celtic and NBA champion is the face of the BetMGM sports betting app in Massachusetts. BetMGM are one of the leading Sportsbooks in the USA and have casted Garnett more in TV ads.
He also featured in ads promoting BetMGM Massachusetts’ pre-launch and their special NBA promotions.
