The Big Ticket Gets His Night: Wolves Set KG's Jersey Retirement vs. Celtics
It's official, folks. The Big Ticket is coming home—and this time, it's forever.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Friday that they'll retire Kevin Garnett's No. 21 on Feb. 28, when the Boston Celtics roll into town. That's right: the team that KG dragged to relevance is giving him his flowers, and the opponent is one of the other squads he made iconic.
This marks the second jersey retirement for the 15-time All-Star. The Celtics already hung his No. 5 from the rafters back in March 2022. Now, Minnesota is ready to do the same for the guy who put the franchise on his back.
The Beef Is Officially Over
Let's be real—this didn't happen overnight. Garnett had been distant from the Timberwolves since his playing career ended in 2016, thanks to a nasty fallout with former owner Glen Taylor. KG straight-up refused to let Minnesota retire his number until he built a rapport with new governors Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who agreed to buy the team in 2021.
Once those guys took the reins, the reconciliation game began. In December, the Wolves announced plans to honor Garnett after he agreed to reunite with his first NBA squad and became a team ambassador. Now we've got a date, and it's going to be a full-blown celebration.
This isn't the first time a KG ceremony came with drama, either. When the Celtics retired his No. 5, he embraced Ray Allen during the ceremony—burying a beef that had festered since Allen bolted to Miami in 2012. If KG can let bygones be bygones with Ray, you know the Minnesota crowd is about to shower him with all the love he deserves.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Garnett is the Timberwolves' all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He's the only player in NBA history to lead a franchise in all five major statistical categories. The only player in Wolves history to win MVP—that came in 2003-04. And he dragged Minnesota to eight straight playoff appearances from 1996-97 to 2003-04, with the last of those being the only postseason series win until the 2024 West finals run.
When his No. 21 goes up, it'll join just one other retired jersey in Wolves history: No. 2, honoring Malik Sealy, who tragically died in a car crash in May 2000 while playing for Minnesota.
Feb. 28 can't get here soon enough. KG's number is going to the rafters, and the Target Center is going to shake with the roar of a fanbase that never forgot its true original superstar. The Big Ticket is getting his night. Let's go.