Welcome home, Kevin Garnett.
On Thursday, Shams Charania of ESPN announced that the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise legend will be returning to the organization in an all-encompassing business, community,
and content role, and that the well-overdue retirement of his number 21 jersey will be taking place.
Garnett has been distant from the Wolves since retiring from the NBA 2015-16 season due to his reported disdain for former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. With the sale of the Timberwolves finalized and Taylor out of the way, Garnett is finally making his return to the franchise that he put on the map.
With Garnett, the Wolves made the playoffs eight straight seasons from 1997 to 2004. Garnett won the MVP award in 2004 in the same season the Wolves made their first trip to the Western Conference Finals. Garnett means everything to Minnesota, the Timberwolves, and their fans. Through the first 30 years of the team’s existence, the Wolves had only been able to find success with Garnett on the roster.
With Anthony Edwards leading the current team, the Wolves are back to making the playoffs every season and have made the Western Conference Finals not once, but twice in the last two seasons. The first trip, when the Wolves knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, came on Garnett’s birthday, 20 years to the date of the franchise’s other Game 7 win over the Sacramento Kings.
This season, the Wolves debuted their new throwback black tree jerseys and court, embracing the legacy of Garnett’s era. The Wolves will don the trees 21 times at home this season, a clear nod to the return of the Big Ticket.
KG’s jersey retirement will take place sometime over the next two seasons, according to Charania’s sources, so Timberwolves fans may have to wait a little bit longer to see the number 21 hanging up inside Target Center. When it does, though, it will be a night to remember inside Target Center.
