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In the early morning of March 24, 40-year-old Kevin Garnett posted a video on his personal Instagram. At the end of the video, he waved goodbye to his career-“Goodbye”.
In this way, after reaching a buyout agreement with his old club, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett, who has played in the NBA for 21 years, announced his retirement, and a legend came to an end.
In the 1995 NBA Draft, Garnett was selected by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the first round and started his career.
One of the few high school players in the NBA, he played for Farragut High School in Chicago before joining the league at 19 to turn pro.
As early as high school, he had already made his mark – he was elected Mr. Basketball in South Carolina in 1994, was selected as the “USA Today” All-American High School Player in 1995, and was selected to the All-American High School First Team.
Garnett spent the first 12 years of his career with the Timberwolves, where he grew from a gangly high school player to a superstar.
In the first season of his career, he averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, and was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team; in the second season, he averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time
line-up.
In the years since then, his skills have gradually matured and his data has grown steadily. From the 1999-2000 season to the 2004-2005 season, he averaged 20 10 5 data per game for six consecutive seasons, becoming the only one in league history.
player to achieve this achievement.
In the 2003-2004 season, he was selected as the best player of the month four times, was selected as an All-Star, was selected to the first team of the best team, was selected to the first team of the best defensive team, and won the only regular season most valuable player trophy in his career.
In the regular season, “Wolf King” won all the honors that a player can get, but in the playoffs, the Wolves always struggled to break through the tight encirclement.
From 1996-1997 to 2002-2003, the Timberwolves fell in the first round of the playoffs for seven consecutive years; in 2004, Garnett, who was at his peak, finally led the Timberwolves to break through the first round, but met the star-studded Lakers F4 in the Western Conference Finals
In the end, the combination failed helplessly and failed to make it to the stage of the finals.
Since then, the Timberwolves’ core lineup has fallen apart, and the team once again sank to the bottom, failing to make the playoffs for three consecutive years.
At that time, Garnett, who was still stubborn, suddenly realized that he was no longer young. He decided to grab the tail of the peak and give it a go for the championship.
In the early morning of August 1, 2007, the veteran Boston Celtics officially announced that they traded almost half of the team and a first-round pick for Garnett.
“Wolf King” came to the North Shore Garden Arena, teaming up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
Here, he unloaded the burden of leading the team alone and devoted himself to defense.
Garnett’s wide wingspan and almost unlimited range of motion have created the Celtics’ defensive core.
That year, Garnett’s numbers dipped, but he was named Defensive Player of the Year for the first time.
More importantly, they won the championship.
They eliminated the Eagles, Cavaliers and Pistons in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and defeated the Lakers led by Kobe Bryant 4-2 in the finals, winning the O’Brien Cup—
—The 32-year-old Garnett cried “I am on top of the world” in tears, which was moving.
Then came the “hero’s twilight” hated by the world.
Age and injuries have kept Garnett’s data shrinking. Even though the Celtics reached the finals again in 2010, Garnett, who never admits defeat, fell behind in the matchup with Lakers forward Pau Gasol.
Downwind, and ultimately defeated.
He still beat his chest, roared, and provoked his opponents, but he couldn’t stop the passage of time.
In 2013, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets and became a bargaining chip for the gambling championship in the hands of the rich Russian boss. However, he averaged only 6.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and he was powerless.
After spending one and a half seasons with the Nets, Garnett waived his trade veto and returned to the Timberwolves.
It has been eight years since he won the championship. At this time, he is no longer the superstar who flew into the sky and escaped from the ground.
He is no longer paranoid and competitive like he was when he was young, he began to enjoy the game purely; he took on the responsibility of a mentor more, he infected young players with his spirit and game attitude, and he did not hesitate to give any help.
Wiggins, LaVine, Towns, talented young people make this team full of vitality.
When Garnett first entered the league, LaVine and Wiggins were still in their infancy, and Towns hadn’t even been born.
The alternation of times is so wonderful.
Garnett’s 21-year professional career has taken up more than half of his life. He finally decided to retire this summer with his former opponent Kobe and another legendary power forward Tim Duncan of his generation.
Garnett once stated that he intends to buy the Timberwolves and continue to lead the young people forward-perhaps as he said in the retirement video: “Some things are still unfinished.”
In the early morning of September 24th, , 40-year-old Kevin Garnett posted a video on his personal Instagram. At the end of the video, he waved goodbye to his career-“Goodbye”.
In this way, after reaching a buyout agreement with his old club Minnesota Timberwolves, in NB