Minnesota Timberwolves announce Kevin Garnett's return to Target Center
The Big Ticket is back!
After eight years away from the team, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Kevin Garnett is coming home.
On Friday, Twins baseball was in the air, but the Timberwolves were also making headlines with the announced return of Garnett as a team ambassador.
"I'm gassed, I'm super gassed! Right! Let's get it," said Garnett in a video.
"He dominated the post. Big presence there for the Timberwolves for a lot of years," said Brett Lothian, a Timberwolves fan.
"He brought in a lot of fans, and he changed the game for Minnesota. So, I think it's overdue and it's well-deserved," said Jenny Hissam, a Timberwolves fan.
For those who have followed Garnett's entire career, the homecoming is also overdue. And the timing is interesting. That's because Garnett hasn't set foot in Target Center since 2018. Much of that due to a feud with former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor.
"It took a long time to get this deal done. I think there's a lot that goes into the deal that got him back," said Mike Max, WCCO sports anchor.
Max said new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez wanted the franchise's all-time scoring leader to be part of their future.
"Talking to Alex in September, this was a priority for him, was to get Kevin Garnett back as part of ceremonial or beyond," said Max.
Garnett will make an appearance as the new team ambassador on April 12, during the regular season finale and fan appreciation night.
"Fans have been wanting this to happen for a long time," said Mark Rosen, former WCCO sports anchor.
Rosen also watched KG grow from a kid to the Big Ticket. He said the return will be epic, but so will next season when they officially hang his #21 jersey in the Target Center rafters.
"It will be an even bigger deal, I think, when he comes back for that jersey, and hopefully the Wolves will have a banner someday to put up beside that," said Rosen.
The Timberwolves take on the New Orleans Pelicans on April 12.
Garnett spent 14 years with the team, was the 2004 league MVP and is a 10-time NBA all-star. Minnesota drafted him fifth overall in 1995 and traded him to the Boston Celtics in 2007, where he won a championship in his first season with the team. He returned to the Timberwolves in 2015 and retired a year later.