Kevin Garnett
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| Player information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Maurice Garnett | |
| Nickname | KG, The Big Ticket, The Kid | |
| birthday | 19th May 1976 (age 44) | |
| place of birth | Mauldin , South Carolina , United States | |
| size | 211 cm | |
| Weight | 109 kg | |
| position | Power Forward / Center | |
| NBA draft | 1995 , 5th pick, Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| league | NBA | |
| Jersey number | 21, 5, 2 | |
| Clubs as active | ||
1995–2007 Minnesota Timberwolves 2007–2013 Boston Celtics 2013–2015 Brooklyn Nets 2015–2016 Minnesota Timberwolves
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| National team | ||
| 1999-2000
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United States | 18 games |
Kevin Maurice Garnett (born May 19, 1976 in Mauldin , South Carolina ) is a former American basketball player who was active from 1995 to 2016 for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Garnett has long been considered one of the best players in the NBA and is 15 times All-Star . He was elected 9 times to the All-NBA Team and 12 times to the All-Defensive Team . In the 2003/04 season he was MVP of the league, in 2008 he was able to win the NBA championship with the Celtics. In 2020 Garnett was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player .
Career
High school
Kevin Garnett played basketball for Mauldin High School. During his sophomore year at school, Garnett got into a fight between white and African American students and, although not directly involved in the fight, was arrested. Because of this racially motivated argument and the risk of being targeted, Garnett decided to drop out of Mauldin High School. He moved to the Farragut Career Academy in Chicago , Illinois and led the school to 28 wins in 30 games, leading to his appointment as National High School Player of the Year by the newspaper USA Today led. He was also named Illinois Mr. Basketball thanks to his 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds , 6.7 assists and 6.5 blocks per game .
In his four years of high school basketball, Garnett had 2,553 points, 1,809 rebounds and blocked 737 throws. At the McDonald's All-American game, he recorded 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, whereupon he was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and shortly thereafter signed up for the 1995 NBA Draft. The last players drafted straight into the NBA from high school had been Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins more than 20 years ago.
Minnesota Timberwolves (1995-2007)
The Minnesota Timberwolves secured the rights to the exceptional young talent Kevin Garnett with the 5th pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. Thus, he became the first player since 1975 who was drafted straight from high school into the NBA and the highest to date Draft position of a high school player. Garnett did not immediately make the leap to superstar like players who were also drafted from high school to the NBA years after him, such as Kobe Bryant , LeBron James or Dwight Howard , but had to establish themselves first from the bench. However, Kobe Bryant stated that Garnett's example had reinforced his determination to skip college.
He quickly made it to the starting line-up and promptly became the team leader. It wasn't enough for the playoffs in his first year, but he made it into the NBA All-Rookie Second Team . Even before the 1996-1997 NBA season could begin, the Timberwolves got the young point guard Stephon Marbury via Trade. Garnett's point average shot from 10.4 points in the previous year to 17.0 points per game and he was rewarded with an NBA All-Star Game participation. The Timberwolves made it to the NBA playoffs for the first time in their history, but they could not oppose the Houston Rockets around Hakeem Olajuwon and had to admit defeat after three games.
During the 1997-1998 NBA season , Garnett extended his contract with the Timberwolves to six years for a total of $ 126 million. An unprecedented deal of this size caused quite a stir in the media and was supposedly one of the reasons for the NBA lockout that would follow a year later. Despite the media hype, Garnett increased his average to 18.5 points per game and also posted 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. He was voted All-Star again and the Timberwolves won more games than they lost in a season for the first time in their history. But again it was not enough to survive the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Timberwolves were able to win at least two games and thus their first victories in the playoffs since the team was founded.
The following season was shortened to 50 games because of the lockout. Despite trading Stephon Marbury, the Timberwolves managed to qualify for the playoffs. They had to admit defeat to the San Antonio Spurs , the eventual NBA champions, after four games. In the following NBA season from 1999-2000 Garnett improved again: 22.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals per game secured him his first call to the All-NBA 1st team. Despite 50 wins and thus the best season in the history of the Timberwolves, it was once again not enough to get out of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Before the next season began, Malik Sealy, a Timberwolves player, was hit by a drunk driver and died. The Timberwolves signed Joe Smith, but the NBA made it illegal and severely punished the team: they had their next three first-round picks taken, paid $ 3.5 million, and general manager Kevin McHale was suspended for a year . Nevertheless, Garnett managed to lead his team to 47 wins, but again the first lap ended.
In the 2001-2002 NBA season, Garnett scored 21.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. Despite all their efforts, the Timberwolves had to admit defeat again in the first round of the NBA playoffs, this time after three games against the Dallas Mavericks around Steve Nash , Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley. The next season was one of Garnett's best: 23 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals per game spoke a clear language. He was rewarded with his second election to the All-NBA 1st Team and second place in the voting for the MVP of the regular season. With 51 wins they were able to qualify for the playoffs again, but after six games against the Los Angeles Lakers the first round was over again.
In the 2003-2004 NBA season, things finally seemed to be going better for Garnett and the Timberwolves. So far, the team has been more of a one-man show, but this season the Minnesota team has strengthened itself with Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell . With the best team-mates he had until then, Garnett scored 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. The Timberwolves have won more games than ever this season. Because of those 58 wins and career bests in points, rebounds and blocks, Garnett was named the MVP of the regular season. In the NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves finally made the long-awaited jump from the first round after five games against the Denver Nuggets . In the second round they were able to prevail after seven games against the extremely strong Sacramento Kings . In the Western Conference Finals they had to play against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were able to prevail against the Timberwolves after six games.
After the best season of his career so far, it was all downhill for Garnett for the time being. The following season the Timberwolves failed to qualify for the playoffs, and another season later Latrell Sprewell left the team and Sam Cassell was traded. The Timberwolves could only take 33 wins. Another season later it was only enough for 32 wins. In the offseason the first rumors arose that Garnett would be in a trade. The rumor mill was boiling.
Boston Celtics (2007-2013)
On July 31, 2007, Kevin Garnett was named for Al Jefferson , Ryan Gomes , Sebastian Telfair , Gerald Green , Theo Ratliff , Boston's 2009 first-round pick, 2009 Minnesota's first-round pick ( from a previous trade ), and money to Boston Celtics traded. Never in the history of the NBA have so many players been given away for a single player. On the same day he extended his contract, which ran until 2009, prematurely by three years for $ 60 million. Since the Celtics could also get Ray Allen and already had Paul Pierce in their ranks, they were one of the favorites for the NBA championship. They were nicknamed " The Big Three " - the same one that Larry Bird , Kevin McHale and Robert Parish used to have. Since Garnett's previous jersey number 21 was no longer awarded by the Celtics, he decided to wear jersey number 5 from now on. In his first game in a Boston Celtics jersey, Garnett scored 22 points and got 20 rebounds. He got the most votes in the fan voting for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game , but he was unable to participate in the game due to an injury. On March 8, 2008 Garnett scored in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies the 20,000 point of his career. After the season, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year . Garnett subsequently helped the Boston Celtics to their 17th NBA championship.
In the 2008-2009 NBA season , Garnett was chosen for the twelfth time in a row for the NBA All-Star Game. Shortly after the All-Star Game, Garnett was injured in a game against the Utah Jazz and had to sit out 14 games. On his return he decided to cure his knee after four games to be on the safe side and missed the remaining 25 regular season games and the playoffs. The Celtics had to admit defeat to the Orlando Magic in the second round . In the following NBA season, 2009-2010 , the Celtics got reinforcement in the form of Rasheed Wallace . Kevin Garnett was voted All-Star for the thirteenth consecutive year. The Celtics became the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference that injury-ridden season and were able to prevail in the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat , the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic before they were beaten in the NBA Finals by the Los Angeles Lakers .
In the summer of 2010, the Celtics strengthened themselves with the former all-stars Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal . Garnett was nominated for the 14th time for the All-Star Game this season and finished the 2010-2011 season with the Celtics behind the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat as third in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the NBA Playoffs 2011 sweepten the Celtics, the New York Knicks before the second round of the Miami Heat with their three superstars LeBron James , Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh subject.
Despite the retirement of Shaquille O'Neal, the injury-related season off of Jeff Green and the tight schedule in the wake of the lockout , the aging Celtics were able to qualify again for the NBA playoffs in the 2011-2012 season. One of the reasons for this is that Garnett's game is seen as the center with which he set up better statistics during the season than before on the position of power forward. He was able to build on previous performances with 19.2 points and 10.4 rebounds and led the Celtics after victories over the Atlanta Hawks (4-2) and the Philadelphia 76ers (4-3) in the Eastern Conference Finals. Against the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat, however, the Celtics lost just under 3-4, after they were now in the lead with 3-2.
After the season, the Boston Celtics decided to extend the contract with Garnett for another three years. The new contract should bring him $ 34 million and make him the highest-earning NBA professional. At the time, Garnett was an estimated $ 291 million, just short of the $ 292 million Shaquille O'Neal made in his professional career in the NBA.
Brooklyn Nets (2013-2015)
On July 12, 2013 Garnett was swapped to the Brooklyn Nets along with Paul Pierce and Jason Terry . In return, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries , among others, were sent to Boston. With the Nets he wore the shirt number 2. With the Nets he reached the second play-of-round in 2014. But in the course of the rebuilding of the Nets and because of his advanced age, Garnett received fewer and fewer games.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2015-2016)
On February 19, 2015, Garnett returned to the Timberwolves. In return, Garnett waived its no-trade clause . In return, Thaddeus Young moved to Brooklyn. Garnett was to play the role of mentor in the young team led by Andrew Wiggins , Zach LaVine and (since the 2015-16 season ) Karl-Anthony Towns and inspire the other players with his energy. On December 11, 2015 Garnett overtook the previous record holder for defensive rebounds , Karl Malone and now led the all-time NBA best list with 11,453 defensive rebounds. In terms of sport, Garnett's season was the weakest, he only played in 38 games due to a knee injury and scored 3.2 points and 3.9 rebounds on average, his weakest values.
Garnett's resignation from the NBA was announced on September 23, 2016.
Achievements & Awards
- NBA Championship: 2008
- NBA Most Valuable Player: 2004
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2008
- NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2003
- 15 × NBA All-Star: 1997, 1998, 2000-2011, 2013
- 9 × All-NBA team
- 4 × First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008
- 3 × Second Team 2001, 2002, 2005
- 2 × Third Team 1999, 2007
- 12 × All-NBA Defensive Team
- 9 × First Team: 2000–2005, 2008–2009, 2011
- 3 × Second Team: 2006–2007, 2012
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1996
- J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award : 2006
- Induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame : 2020
NBA stats and records
Kevin Garnett is the first player in NBA history to average (at least) 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game in 6 consecutive seasons (1999-2005). He is also the first player to be listed in at least the top 50 of the all-time leaderboard in all 5 categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks).
Garnett is the only player in NBA history to accumulate at least 26,000 points, 14,600 rebounds, 5,400 assists, 1,800 steals and 2,000 blocks. He is also the 16th player to have scored more than 25,000 points in his career.
During the All-Star Game 2003, in which he was then awarded the All-Star MVP, Garnett achieved the ninth-highest score: 37. The 1962 record set by Wilt Chamberlain is 42 points.
Regular season: (as of February 17, 2020)
Playing times: 21 (rank: 2)
Games: 1462 (rank: 7)
Minutes: 50,418 (rank: 4)
Points: 26,071 ( rank: 17 )
Rebounds: 14,662 (rank: 9)
Assists: 5,445 (rank: 50)
Steals: 1,859 (Rank: 18)
Blocks: 2,037 (Rank: 18)
Free Throws: 4,887 (Rank: 39)
Playoffs:
Games: 143
points: 2601
rebounds: 1534
assists: 471
steals: 178
blocks: 186
Others
Kevin Garnett was known for blocking throws that were fired after the referee whistled. He justified it with the fact that he was trying to interrupt the rhythm of the opponents.
See also
- List of NBA players with the most points scored
- List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Web links
- Kevin Garnett - player profile on NBA.com
- Kevin Garnett - player profile on basketball-reference.com
- Kevin Garnett in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ usabasketball.com - All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster // G ( Memento of the original from August 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ NBA: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett inducted into the Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
- ^ Before they were stars
- ↑ Player biography ( memento of the original from July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Todd Boyd: Young, Black, Rich, and Famous. The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion, and the Transformation of American Culture. With a new introduction by the author. Lincoln / London 2008: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-1675-4 (page 176, in English).
- ↑ KD traded? ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Three Way Deal? ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ KG traded to Boston
- ↑ 7-for-1 deal
- ^ New contract in Boston
- ↑ "The Big Three"
- ↑ KG's first game for Boston
- ↑ KG Top Votegetter ( Memento of the original dated November 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Celtics take 17th NBA title
- ↑ Lakers defeat Celtics, 2010
- ↑ 2010–2011 Playoffs Schedule
- ↑ Kevin Garnett NBA Statistics
- ↑ 2011-12 Playoffs Schedule
- ↑ Garnett ready to become top NBA earner
- ↑ Wolves Acquire Forward Kevin Garnett
- ↑ Shaun Powell: Once-lowly Wolves now stacked with talent. NBA.com, October 20, 2015, accessed October 24, 2015 .
- ↑ Kevin Garnett passes Karl Malone as NBA's all-time def. rebound leader
- ↑ Garnett says 'farewell' to NBA after 21 seasons. (No longer available online.) NBA.com, September 23, 2016, archived from the original on September 24, 2016 ; accessed on September 24, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Russell Westbrook falls down trying block shots after the whistle. Ball Is Life, April 14, 2014, accessed July 11, 2015 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Garnett, Kevin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Garnett, Kevin Maurice (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mauldin , South Carolina, USA |