Kevin Garnett, the greatest player in Minnesota Timberwolves history, will finally take his place in the rafters at the Target Center on Feb. 28, 2027, more than 10 years after his retirement. Garnett put the Timberwolves on the map in the greater NBA consciousness, playing his first 12 NBA seasons in Minnesota, and the team has long wanted to honor his contributions by officially retiring the No. 21 -- which has been unofficially retired since Garnett left the first time in 2007, as no one else has worn that number in Minnesota since. However, Garnett refused to participate in a jersey retirement ceremony due to longstanding issues with former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, saying he "doesn't do business with snakes." When Garnett returned to Minnesota in the 2014-15 season and set out to play his final year with the team in 2015-16 under coach Flip Saunders, he and Taylor discussed his joining the organization in a minority ownership role after his retirement.
However, after Saunders' death, Minnesota bought Garnett out of his contract and his relationship with Taylor soured. Taylor sold the Timberwolves to a group fronted by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez last year -- after a contentious legal battle in which Taylor tried to back out of the deal -- and Garnett was quickly brought back to the organization in an off-court role. Garnett made his first public appearance when he attended a game at the Target Center on April 12, 2026, and the path was cleared for his long-awaited jersey retirement ceremony.
That will happen on Feb. 28 of this upcoming season, which is fittingly when the Boston Celtics are in town to face the Timberwolves. Garnett's No. 5 is already retired at the TD Garden in Boston, where he won his lone NBA championship in 2008, and his career will come full circle when the two franchises he's most synonymous with (no one speaks of the Brooklyn years) meet again in Minnesota. Garnett made 10 All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams and won his lone MVP in his first stint with the Timberwolves.
He led Minnesota to its first-ever playoff appearance in 1997 and reached the postseason in each of the next eight seasons, peaking with a Western Conference Finals trip in 2004. That was the last time Minnesota made the playoffs with Garnett, who was eventually traded to Boston in the summer of 2007. Garnett is the Timberwolves' all-time franchise leader in every major statistical category -- points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
That it took more than a decade after his retirement for his jersey to be raised to the rafters has frustrated fans in Minnesota. But most have been understanding of Garnett's refusal to share a podium with Taylor, which has been emblematic of Garnett's strong will that made him such a dominant force on the court. Now, with a new ownership group in place and those fences mended, Garnett will get his well-earned day of celebration alongside the Timberwolves faithful.
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