74 Facts About Kevin Garnett

Kevin Maurice Garnett is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association.

In high school, Kevin Garnett was a 1995 McDonald's All-American at Farragut Career Academy and a national player of the year award winner.

Kevin Garnett entered the 1995 NBA draft, where he was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves and became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years.

Kevin Garnett made an immediate impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading them to eight consecutive playoff appearances.

Kevin Garnett was traded to the Celtics in 2007, helping lead them to the 2008 NBA Finals and beat the Los Angeles Lakers, while finishing in third place for the MVP award.

In 2013, Kevin Garnett was included in a second headline trade that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets with longtime Celtic Paul Pierce.

Kevin Garnett announced his retirement from professional basketball in September 2016.

Kevin Garnett was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Kevin Garnett was named to the All-NBA Team nine times and the NBA All-Defensive Team 12 times.

Kevin Garnett made his feature film debut, playing a fictionalized version of himself, in the 2019 film Uncut Gems.

Kevin Garnett was born on May 19,1976, in Greenville, South Carolina.

Kevin Garnett is the middle child and has two sisters.

Kevin Garnett fell in love with the sport of basketball while attending Hillcrest Middle School, although he did not play organized basketball until high school.

However, during the summer before his senior year of high school, Kevin Garnett was in the general vicinity of a fight between black and white students.

In four years of high school, Kevin Garnett posted an impressive 2,553 points, 1,809 rebounds and 737 blocked shots.

In high school, Kevin Garnett played alongside Ronnie Fields, who became a professional basketball player.

Kevin 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.

Kevin 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 Kevin 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 Kevin Garnett himself, have stated that he would have likely attended Michigan, influenced by an appreciation of the Fab Five and Chris Webber, in particular.

Two weeks later at the Lakeshore Athletic Club, Fleisher ran a small tryout where Kevin Garnett dominated against older, more experienced competition.

The workout included Kevin Garnett touching the box painted on the backboard above the rim multiple times, and McHale giving Kevin Garnett tips on shooting jump shots.

Kevin 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.

Kevin 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.

Kevin 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.

Kevin Garnett was voted to the All-Rookie Second Team on averages of 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

At the time, Kevin Garnett was the youngest NBA player in history at 19 years and 11 months of age.

Kevin Garnett had two games where he registered eight blocks.

Kevin Garnett made the first of his four All-NBA First Team appearances and came in second place in the MVP voting.

In both of those seasons, Kevin Garnett earned All-NBA Third Team honors.

Kevin Garnett's name was mentioned in various trade rumors involving the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks.

Kevin Garnett later confirmed that his preferred trade destinations were the Lakers, Celtics, and Suns.

Kevin Garnett initially contacted Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant about joining the team as the Lakers were his initial top choice but Bryant didn't answer or return the calls.

At the time of the trade, Kevin 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.

Kevin Garnett said that he was proud to be a part of the Celtics and hoped to continue its proud tradition and basketball success.

Kevin 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.

Kevin Garnett made his Boston debut with a strong performance against the Washington Wizards, with 22 points and 20 rebounds.

Kevin Garnett led all players in voting for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.

Kevin Garnett received 2,399,148 votes, the twelfth highest total in NBA All-Star balloting history.

However, Kevin Garnett was unable to play due to an abdominal strain, and Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was named to replace him.

Kevin Garnett said it was a team effort which helped him win the award.

Kevin Garnett was third in MVP voting for the year, behind only Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul.

Kevin Garnett helped the Celtics to their 17th NBA Championship, with 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Kevin Garnett averaged 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

On October 31,2008, Kevin Garnett became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career games, at 32 years and 165 days.

Kevin Garnett earned his twelfth consecutive All-Star Game start on February 15,2009.

Kevin Garnett was forced to miss the next 14 games.

Kevin Garnett was selected to play in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.

In Game 6 against the Cavaliers, Kevin Garnett recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in the series-clinching win.

On December 30,2010, Kevin Garnett injured his right knee after he tried to dunk.

Kevin Garnett returned on January 17,2011, to face the Orlando Magic.

Kevin Garnett averaged under 15 points, under 9 rebounds, and a career low 0.8 blocks per game.

Kevin Garnett was not selected for the All-Star game for the first time in 11 years.

Kevin Garnett found a resurgence in the playoffs, averaging 19.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

On January 17,2013, it was announced that Kevin Garnett was voted to start in the 2013 All-Star Game in Houston.

On June 27,2013, the day of the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets reached a deal to trade Kevin 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.

Kevin Garnett chose to wear number 2 to honor his deceased former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Malik Sealy.

On December 13,2013, Kevin Garnett surpassed 14,000 career rebounds, becoming only the tenth player in NBA history to do so.

In reaching the milestone, Kevin Garnett joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone as the only players to reach 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds, and 5,000 assists.

On February 19,2015, Kevin Garnett agreed to waive his no-trade clause in order to be traded back to Minnesota in exchange for Thaddeus Young.

On July 11,2015, Kevin Garnett re-signed with the Timberwolves to a two-year deal.

On November 15,2015, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin 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.

Kevin Garnett finished the game with four defensive boards to give him 11,409 for his career, three ahead of Malone.

On September 23,2016, Kevin Garnett announced his retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA.

In October 2016, Kevin Garnett joined the crew on TNT's Inside the NBA.

In January 2017, Kevin Garnett joined the Los Angeles Clippers as a consultant.

Kevin Garnett plays a fictionalized version of himself in the 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems, directed by the Safdie brothers.

Kevin Garnett takes a liking to an Ethiopian opal which Ratner shows off.

Kevin Garnett brought OBF members to live with him in his Minnesota home, and let some onboard team charter flights during road trips.

Kevin Garnett 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, Kevin Garnett married his longtime girlfriend Brandi Padilla during a private ceremony in California.

On July 12,2018, Kevin Garnett's wife filed for divorce, asking for custody of the children.

Kevin Garnett is the half-brother of former basketball player Louis McCullough.

Kevin Garnett mentally prepared himself before games by banging his head against a padded basketball stanchion.

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