Timberwolves formalize a reunion with Kevin Garnett, with a plan to finally retire his No. 21 jersey

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Garnett will finally have his No. 21 formally retired by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves announced on Thursday they've hired the Hall of Fame member and franchise icon as a team ambassador, with a plan to honor Garnett in a jersey-raising ceremony at Target Center on a future date.

The fifth pick in the 1995 draft, who played the first 12 of his 21 seasons in the NBA for Minnesota before returning in 2015 for a farewell year, has essentially been estranged from the organization because of a rift with former owner Glen Taylor. Once Taylor's sale of the Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx to e-commerce mogul Marc Lore and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez closed earlier this year, the path to a reunion was cleared.

“I’m thrilled to be back home,” Garnett said in a statement distributed by the Timberwolves. “Minnesota is where it all began, where I was young, hungry and learning how to compete at the highest level. I’m excited to be back in the Twin Cities at a time when Marc and Alex are setting a bold new vision for this franchise. Their leadership has brought fresh energy to the organization, and I’m excited to help build what’s next for the Timberwolves, our fans and this community.”

The native of South Carolina, who finished high school in Chicago and trailblazed his way directly to the NBA draft, remains the all-time Timberwolves leader in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, games and minutes. He won the NBA MVP award in 2004, helped the team make the playoffs eight straight times (1997-2004) for the longest streak in franchise history and earned 10 of his 15 career All-Star selections with Minnesota.

Garnett had his first falling out with the Timberwolves after they traded him to Boston in 2007. Taylor later told a local newspaper columnist he felt “KG tanked it” by sitting out the final five games of a 50-loss season in 2006-07 with a leg injury.

Garnett won an NBA championship in 2008 with the Celtics, who retired his No. 5 jersey there in 2022 to further frustrate the Timberwolves fans pining for his return to a relationship with his original team. After six seasons with Boston, Garnett was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013. In the middle of his second season there, he was traded back to the Timberwolves and re-signed for the following season before retiring.

Garnett's longtime coach and confidant with the Timberwolves, Flip Saunders, had returned to the organization by then and orchestrated the trade to bring him back, helping bridge the frayed relationship between Garnett and Taylor. But Saunders died of cancer in 2015, and the promise Garnett believed he had from Taylor to buy a stake in the team did not pan out.

“I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart. But I don’t do business with snakes,” Garnett said in an interview with The Athletic in 2020 about his relationship at the time with the Timberwolves.

Garnett’s role with both the Timberwolves and Lynx will be “visible and active,” according to the announcement. He will attend certain home games, support community initiatives and help shape the fan experience and storytelling on team content channels.

“Bringing Kevin home has been a priority since we acquired the teams. He is the greatest player in Timberwolves history, and his impact on our franchise and community is immeasurable,” Lore and Rodriguez said in a joint statement. “This is more than a reunion — it’s a statement about honoring our past while pursuing excellence and building one of the most admired sports organizations in the world. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome him home.”

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