Kevin Garnett is one of three players in NBA history -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are the others -- with at least 20, career points, 10, career rebounds and 5, career assists.
He's also one of two players -- Hakeem Olajuwon is the other -- with at least 1, career steals and 1, career blocks. In some ways, Garnett was a modern big man. He didn't shoot many 3-pointers, but was very comfortable playing and shooting from 15 feet and out. He took more than half of his shots from mid-range between the paint and the 3-point line in each of his last 11 seasons.
Career He was also the ideal defender for the modern NBA, a big man who could defend the rim, but also switch onto guards and stay with them on the perimeter. He was, arguably, one of the best defensive players in NBA history.
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It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Cork Gaines. Garnett was talented, but he was also the right player, in the right place, at the right time. Relatives : Cousin Shammond Williams. Compare Kevin Garnett to other players. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Are you a Stathead, too? Subscribe to our Free Newsletter. This Month in Sports Reference Find out when we add a feature or make a change.
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G Effective Field Goal Percentage This statistic adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. Two weeks later at the Lakeshore Athletic Club, Fleisher ran a small tryout where Garnett dominated against older, more experienced competition. Representatives from the 13 teams with lottery picks, with Kevin McHale , Elgin Baylor , Flip Saunders , and Kevin Loughery among them, were in the workout that was scheduled around the same time as a pre-draft tryout camp.
The workout included Garnett touching the box painted on the backboard above the rim multiple times, and McHale giving Garnett tips on shooting jump shots.
Garnett was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves , and became the first player to be drafted directly out of high school since Since joining the NBA for the —90 season , the Timberwolves had not won more than 29 games in any season. 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 and with the urging of Sam Mitchell. In the final 42 games of the year, averaged 14 points, 8. 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 Amar'e Stoudemire , LeBron James , and Dwight Howard would, but he did have a very respectable rookie year.
He was voted to the All-Rookie Second Team on averages of Despite having some promising players, the Timberwolves suffered through their seventh consecutive sub 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. During the season, Garnett posted improved averages of He also had two games where he registered eight blocks.
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. To get out of the spotlight while negotiations were ongoing, Garnett stayed in Fleisher's Westchester County home, north of New York City. The contract was considered a risky move and many analysts speculated that the deal would make it impossible for the Wolves to sign new players or even keep their own.
The enormous size of Garnett's contract was considered, by numerous sports writers, a major cause of labor tensions between players and owners that led to a lockout which shortened the —99 NBA season. Despite the furor over his new contract, Garnett continued to improve, averaging 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 3—2 to the Seattle SuperSonics and superstar point guard Gary Payton. The two wins against the Sonics marked the Wolves' first-ever playoff game wins. The off-season started poorly for the Timberwolves though as point per game scorer Tom Gugliotta left for the Phoenix Suns. In the lockout-shortened season that followed, Garnett broke through as a superstar.
Putting up stats of A big reason for this was the fact that Marbury wanted more touches and more of the spotlight, which led to disputes between the players. 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 eighth seed with a 25—25 record.
In the —00 season , Garnett continued his notable play, averaging Assisted by sharpshooting rookie forward Wally Szczerbiak and steady veteran Terrell Brandon, the Wolves posted a franchise-best 50—32 record, but succumbed in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers 3—1. On May 20, , Timberwolves' guard and Garnett's close friend Malik Sealy was killed by a drunk driver shortly after celebrating Garnett's 24th birthday.
This greatly hindered the Wolves' ability to surround Garnett with the proper players he needed to find team success. In the —02 season , Garnett posted another notable season, his averages of However, the Timberwolves bowed out in the first round for the sixth consecutive time, this time getting swept 3—0 by the Dallas Mavericks led by Michael Finley , Steve Nash , and Dirk Nowitzki.
Garnett's next season was one of the best of his career, his 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 three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers 4—2.
In the —04 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 had 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 inconsistent Michael Olowokandi. Powered by the best supporting cast up to this point in his career, Garnett averaged Having recorded career-highs in points, rebounds, blocks and leading the league rebounds, Garnett was named the league Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career. With a franchise-record 58 wins, the Wolves stormed into the playoffs, and finally conquered their playoff bane by defeating the Denver Nuggets 4—1 in the first round.
There, playmaker Cassell went down with a back injury. The Lakers pulled off a 4—2 victory in the series, advancing to the NBA Finals for the fourth time in five years, where they lost to the Detroit Pistons in five games. In the —05 season , Garnett was able to record a career-high in terms of scoring as he scored 47 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a — loss to the Phoenix Suns.
He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team, but the Timberwolves failed to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years with a record of 44— The —06 season brought more frustration for Garnett.
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