Kevin Garnett To Announce Retirement From NBA

Kevin Garnett is reportedly set to announce his retirement after the Minnesota Timberwolves came to a buyout agreement with the 40-year-old on Friday. Garnett has become the third sure-fire hall of famer to retire in the last few months, leaving a big hole in the NBA’s heart.

Garnett was a trail blazer, as he became the first player in 20 years to jump from high school to the NBA in 1995. Minnesota selected him with the fifth pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and he spent the next 12 seasons taking the Timberwolves from NBA obscurity to a force in the Western Conference. From there Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, where he spent six seasons, won two Eastern Conference titles and an NBA championship.

The Celtics traded Garnett and to the Nets in 2013 and he spent two years with the team before returning to where it all started in Minnesota during the 2014 season.

One of the most intimidating players in NBA history, Garnett was a two-way superstar who single-handedly lifted his teams to loftier heights than they had any business reaching. He will finish his career as a 15-time All-Star, made the All-NBA First Team four times, the Second Team three rimes and Third Team twice. He was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team nine times and was a Second Team selection three. That’s nine times being named All-NBA and 12 times being named to an All-Defensive team. He was also the NBA MVP during the 2003-04 season. So yeah, not a bad career.

Garnett and the Celtics won their NBA title in 2008 over the Los Angeles Lakers, and he also secured a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He’ll finish ranked 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and 10th in career rebounds.

A star for Farragut Academy in Chicago, everyone knew who Garnett was before he even entered the NBA. He was a star before setting foot on the court in Minnesota. This classic “Lil Penny” commercial proves that:

Garnett’s retirement means he’ll enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in the same class as Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, making it easily the greatest group in history.

The NBA simply won’t be the same without Kevin Garnett. Today is truly a sad day for the league.