Kevin Garnett

Early life

Garnett was born on May 19, 1976, in Greenville, South Carolina. He is the middle child and has two sisters. Garnett's mother, Shirley Garnett, never married his father, O'Lewis McCullough, with their relationship ending shortly after his birth. Garnett grew up with his mother and stepfather.

Garnett fell in love with the sport of basketball while attending Hillcrest Middle School, although he did not play organized basketball until high school. In his first three years of high school, Garnett attended Mauldin High School in Mauldin, South Carolina, and played on the school's basketball team. However, during the summer before his senior year of high school, Garnett was in the general vicinity of a fight between black and white students. Although not directly involved, Garnett was one of three students arrested for second-degree lynching, a charge that was expunged through a pre-trial intervention. Due to the racially charged incident and fearful of being a target, Garnett decided to leave Mauldin High and transferred to Farragut Career Academy in Chicago's West Side, for his senior year of high school.

Living with his sister in Chicago, Garnett led Farragut to a 28–2 record and was named National High School Player of the Year by USA Today. 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. In high school, Garnett played alongside Ronnie Fields, who also became a professional basketball player. Garnett was named the Most Outstanding Player at the McDonald's All-American Game after registering 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocked shots, and then declared himself eligible for the 1995 NBA draft. To mark the 35th anniversary of the McDonald's All-American High School Boys Basketball Game, Garnett was honored as one of 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans. Garnett's decision not to play college basketball was influenced in part by his failure to score well enough on the ACT to meet NCAA requirements for freshman eligibility. Garnett told Student Sports Magazine in 1995 that if he went to college, he would have played college basketball for the University of Maryland, a moderate surprise at the time considering, while Maryland and North Carolina were contenders, the University of Michigan were viewed as front-runners in Garnett's recruitment. However, in the years since his recruitment, several figures close to the recruitment, including former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, as well as Garnett himself, have stated that he would have likely attended Michigan, influenced by an appreciation of the Fab Five and Chris Webber, in particular.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–2007)

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. Since joining the NBA for the 1989–90 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, 8.4 rebounds and 2.26 blocks as a starter. 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 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Despite having some promising players, the Timberwolves suffered through their seventh consecutive sub-30 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.

Before the 1996–97 season, the Timberwolves made a draft-day trade for point guard Stephon Marbury of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. During the season, Garnett posted improved averages of 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.7 steals. 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. However, the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley, proved to be too much as the Timberwolves were swept 3–0 in the first round of the 1997 NBA Playoffs.

In August 1997, Garnett and Fleisher turned down the Timberwolves' offer of a contract worth $102 million over six years. They thought there would be more offered to them on the basis of the signings of $105 million over seven years for Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat and $100.8 million over seven years for Juwan Howard with the Washington Bullets. To get out of the spotlight while negotiations were ongoing, Garnett stayed in Fleisher's Westchester County home, north of New York City. One hour before the deadline on October 1, 1997, the Timberwolves and Garnett agreed on a six-year contract extension that was worth an unparalleled $126 million. 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 1998–99 NBA season. Despite the furor over his new contract, Garnett continued to improve, averaging 18.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. 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 20-point per game scorer Tom Gugliotta left for the Phoenix Suns.

Boston Celtics (2007–2013)

On July 31, 2007, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick (top 3 protected), and the 2009 first-round pick which Minnesota traded to Boston in the Ricky Davis–Wally Szczerbiak trade of 2006. The 7-for-1 deal constitutes the largest number of players traded for a single player in league history. At the time of the trade, Garnett had the longest current tenure of any player in the NBA with one team, having played for the Timberwolves for his first 12 seasons (a total of 927 games). Garnett said that he was proud to be a part of the Celtics and hoped to continue its proud tradition and basketball success. On the day the trade was announced, Garnett signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension that would start after his prior deal ran out in 2009. On August 1, the day after signing with the Celtics, Garnett threw the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park prior to a Red Sox–Orioles game.

The trade for Garnett had many experts speculating that the Celtics would have a resurgence during the 2007–08 season. The combination of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Garnett were almost automatically nicknamed "The Big Three" by the media, after the Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish trio. Garnett wore jersey number 5 for the Celtics since his number with the Timberwolves, number 21, was retired by the Celtics, previously worn by Bill Sharman. He made his Boston debut with a strong performance against the Washington Wizards, with 22 points and 20 rebounds. He also led all players in voting for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Garnett received 2,399,148 votes, the twelfth highest total in NBA All-Star balloting history. However, he was unable to play due to an abdominal strain, and Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was named to replace him. Garnett passed 20,000 points for his career, becoming the 32nd player in NBA history to reach the mark, with a layup in the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 8. On April 22, Garnett was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2007–08 season. It was the only major award a Celtic player had not claimed since the franchise's foundation in 1946. Garnett said it was a team effort which helped him win the award. Garnett was also third in MVP voting for the year, behind only Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. Garnett helped the Celtics to their 17th NBA Championship, with 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. During that championship season, Garnett and Celtics legend Bill Russell developed a relationship, which Garnett credited as a major influence in helping him succeed during his first season as a Celtic. On June 18, 2008, Garnett and Ray Allen appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, soon after winning the championship.

Brooklyn Nets (2013–2015)

On June 27, 2013, the day of the NBA draft, the Celtics and Brooklyn Nets reached a deal to trade Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry for future first-round picks in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 drafts, as well as Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, and Keith Bogans. Two of the Celtics' picks eventually became future All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The deal was finally completed on July 12 with Brooklyn also receiving D. J. White. Garnett chose to wear number 2 to honor his deceased former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Malik Sealy.

On December 13, 2013, Garnett surpassed 14,000 career rebounds, becoming only the tenth player in NBA history to do so. In reaching the milestone, Garnett also joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone as the only players to reach 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds, and 5,000 assists. He reached the milestone in the third quarter of a 103–99 road loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Nets cherished Garnett's leadership and passion. Despite boasting a starting line-up of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Paul Pierce, and Garnett, the Nets were unable to advance past the second round of the playoffs, while Garnett finished his 19th NBA season with career low averages of 6.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

On November 1, 2014, Garnett had arguably his best game for the Nets as he recorded 18 points and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes of action in the Nets' 102–90 win over the Detroit Pistons. Six days later, he recorded five rebounds in a 110–99 win over the New York Knicks and by doing so, passed Walt Bellamy for ninth place on the all-time rebounding list.

Return to Minnesota (2015–2016)

On February 19, 2015, Garnett agreed to waive his no-trade clause in order to be traded back to Minnesota in exchange for Thaddeus Young. Six days later, he made his return for the Timberwolves against the Washington Wizards at the Target Center, recording five points on two-of-seven shooting with eight rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes in his first game for Minnesota since 2007. He appeared in just five games for the Timberwolves in 2014–15, before sitting out the team's final 21 games of the season due to a nagging knee injury.

On July 11, 2015, Garnett re-signed with the Timberwolves to a two-year deal. On November 15, 2015, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Garnett became the fifth player in NBA history to play at least 50,000 minutes, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Jason Kidd, and Elvin Hayes. On December 1, against the Orlando Magic, Garnett surpassed Kidd (50,110) for third on the NBA's career minutes list. Four days later, in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he became the 15th player in NBA history to surpass 26,000 career points. On December 11, Garnett passed Malone as the NBA's all-time leader in defensive rebounds during Minnesota's 111–108 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets. He finished the game with four defensive boards to give him 11,409 for his career, three ahead of Malone. Garnett appeared in 38 of the team's first 45 games of the season before missing the entire second half of the season with a right knee injury, the same knee that kept him out of 25 games in 2008–09 when he was playing for Boston, as well as much of his post-trade time in Minnesota during the 2014–15 season.

On September 23, 2016, Garnett announced his retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA. While Garnett did express interest in playing for one more season with the Timberwolves, primarily with the goal in helping the team make it to the playoffs again with its promising young players and new head coach, he also told the team's owner that he was not sure that his knees would hold up for one more season. During his Naismith Hall of Fame speech, Kevin Garnett lamented that his one regret about playing for the Timberwolves was not bringing them a championship.

National team career

In the 2000 Summer Olympics, Garnett won a gold medal as a member of the United States national team. In his first and only FIBA tournament, Garnett averaged 10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

Post-playing career

In October 2016, Garnett joined the crew on TNT's Inside the NBA. The following month, he became the host of his own segment Area 21. In January 2017, Garnett joined the Los Angeles Clippers as a consultant. He also consulted with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2016–17 season.

On December 17, 2025, Garnett rejoined the Timberwolves as an ambassador. Prior to that, Garnett had distanced himself from the franchise following his retirement due to a long-standing feud with owner Glen Taylor. However, after the Timberwolves were sold to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, Garnett renewed ties with the organization, with the Timberwolves promising to retire his number 21 jersey within two seasons.

Uncut Gems

Garnett played a fictionalized version of himself in the 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems, directed by the Safdie brothers. The movie is set in 2012 and revolves around the Eastern Conference Semi-finals series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. While playing in Philadelphia, Garnett makes a trip to a New York City jewelry store owned by Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) in the Diamond District. Garnett takes a liking to an Ethiopian opal which Ratner shows off. The story revolves around Garnett's performance in the series and relationship with the Opal, alongside Ratner's chaotic and intense personal life.

Garnett's performance received positive reviews from critics. The Safdie brothers picked Garnett after a series of rewrites based on available players. Prior to securing Garnett, the duo approached Amar'e Stoudemire, who refused to cut his hair to match the period; Kobe Bryant, whose representation said he wanted to direct and not act, though Bryant said he was not contacted; and Joel Embiid, whose active NBA schedule could not accommodate filming. Garnett was among the first non-active athletes they approached. Garnett said the process of filming "felt special, but you didn't know it."

He then subsequently signed a deal with Village Roadshow Pictures.

Personal life

Garnett wore clothing branded as "OBF", standing for "Official Block Family." The name came from what he called his close group of friends from Beechwood Court in Mauldin, South Carolina. He brought OBF members to live with him in his Minnesota home, and let some onboard team charter flights during road trips. He met Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the Grammy-winning record producers for Janet Jackson and Boyz II Men, early in his career in Minnesota and considers them as mentors.

In July 2004, Garnett married his longtime girlfriend Brandi Padilla during a private ceremony in California. Due to the wedding, Garnett did not take part in the Athens Olympic Games. The couple has two daughters. On July 12, 2018, Garnett's wife filed for divorce, asking for custody of the children. Garnett is the half-brother of former basketball player Louis McCullough. Another professional basketball player, former Los Angeles Laker Shammond Williams, is his cousin.

His nicknames include "The Big Ticket," "KG," "The Kid," and "The Franchise" (after being known as the Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise player). He mentally prepared himself before games by banging his head against a padded basketball stanchion. Although Garnett is officially listed as 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) by the NBA, he is widely accepted to be at least 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) tall. During the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, Garnett admitted in an interview with Craig Sager to be "6 ft 11 in and some quarters" tall. Measurements from the 1995 NBA draft indicated that Garnett, 19 years old at the time, was 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) tall barefoot. In 1997, Garnett was measured by the Minnesota Timberwolves training staff to be 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall in his basketball shoes. In December 2011, Garnett agreed to become a limited shareholder of American-owned Italian Serie A football team A.S. Roma.

In February 2021, Simon & Schuster published Garnett's autobiography, KG: A to Z: An Uncensored Encyclopedia of Life, Basketball, and Everything in Between, written with David Ritz. In the book, Garnett describes his involvement with various sneaker manufacturers.

NBA career statistics

Achievements and records

Garnett has a long list of achievements and records, including:

Only player who is a franchise's leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks (namely, Minnesota Timberwolves)

Only NBA player to reach at least 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 steals, and 1,500 blocks

Only NBA player to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for 6 consecutive seasons: 1999–2000–2004–05

Only NBA player to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for 9 consecutive seasons: 1998–99–2006–07

Most defensive rebounds in a career (since tracking began 1973–74 season) with 11,453 defensive rebounds

Seasons leading the league in defensive rebounds: 5 (2002–03–2006–07)

Broken by Dwight Howard (2007–08–2012–13)

Consecutive seasons leading the league in defensive rebounds: 5 (2002–03–2006–07)

Broken by Dwight Howard (2007–08–2012–13)

First NBA player to win the NBA Player of the Month Award four times in a single season: 2003–04 season

Also achieved by LeBron James, who has achieved this twice

Most First-team selections to the All-Defensive Team with 9 selections