Kevin Garnett Showed Us all that Anything is Possible

Another legend hangs them up

Last week one of my all time favorite NBA players decided to retire. In fact, he is probably my second favorite player all time behind only Charles Barkley. That player is Kevin Garnett. I am such a big KG fan, I knew this day was coming sooner rather than later, but I was still in shock when I saw that the Timberwolves were buying him out, and he was going to retire. He has been a staple in my NBA watching life for as long as I can remember. I have vivid memories of hearing about KG when he was in high school. He is only 6 years older than I am, so it was neat to see someone that was relatively my same age be so dominant at basketball, which is my favorite sport.

I remember hearing about him transferring out of his small high school in South Carolina for many different reasons. There was the whole fight situation, that I still believe he had nothing to do with, which seemed to be the main reason for his departure. I also remember hearing other reasons such as, Farragaut Academy was a basketball factory and he was next in a long line of stars that they loaded their team with. He was not a great student, and at his high school in South Carolina let him pass because he was so good at basketball. He needed to be challenged academically as well as athletically. But, no matter what we believe or not, transferring out of the smaller school to the mighty Farragaut Academy was the best thing for him.

I also followed him a lot because he had Michigan on his short list of colleges, and me being a Michigan fan, that would have been great. But, after leading Farragaut to an incredible record, and winning Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois, he opted for the NBA draft. I think his decision was made a bit easier because he wasn't getting the scores he needed on his SAT's and ACT as well. He declared for the draft right before this whole "prep to pro" boom took off. In fact, Garnett was one of the first people to do this since Moses Malone or Shawn Kemp.

When he was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 draft by the Timberwolves. I immediately became a T'Wolves fan. As I said, I loved Garnett's game, and the tenacity with which he played. You could tell just by watching him that he put his blood, sweat and tears into this game. He was a guy that was going to put in the necessary work to make himself better and better every year. He was going to mold his game to fit in the NBA. I remember people saying he was too skinny and he would get pushed around. Now, he never got huge, but he found a way to beat bigger guys with his quickness, his work ethic and his trash talking. He played a decent amount as a rookie, but it wasn't until about year 3 when he really became an all time great. His blend of speed, size, skill, quickness, the ability to go inside and outside, his rebounding and his defense, he became a force to be reckoned with.

Before the start of the 1997 season, that was when he got his huge deal. People didn't think he deserved it, but I couldn't have disagreed more. This dude had gotten better every year, and now, he was opposing teams biggest threat. To prove his doubters wrong, he worked extra hard after getting that contract, and the proof was in the pudding. He would go to multiple All Star games. He made the Timberwolves a perennial threat. He made people think that Stephon Marbury was a legit NBA point guard. He gave Flip Saunders, RIP, all he had and turned him into a much better coach. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves could not get any further than the West Finals, but that wasn't for lack of effort and skill on KG's part. He won me over during his first go round in Minnesota, and there was no other player I tried to mimic my game after. I started to rebound and focus on defense more. I developed a low post game. I even started to trash talk, something I never did.

NBA fans know of his otherworldly trash talking. He was an all time great trash talker, right up there with Gary Payton and Michael Jordan. He would cut you down any way possible so he could have any advantage. Trash talking is such an underrated part of the game, and KG is one of the best of all time.

In 2007, KG was traded to Boston. I think we all saw the tea leaves and knew that he had done all he could in Minnesota. They couldn't go any further. So, with his growing frustration, Minnesota traded him to Boston and he paired up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, to form the first "big three". This worked out great for all three of those guys. They won a title in their first season together. Garnett was the star of this "big three", but he never acted bigger than any of his new Boston teammates. That's another great trait of KG. He sacrificed and always did what was best for the team. While in Boston, if they needed him to score, he scored, if they needed rebounding, KG was their guy, if they needed to step up on defense, KG led the charge. He did it all. Even after that title, we all expected so much more from the first "big three", and the start of the 2008-2009 season looked like Boston would be an all time great team. But, injuries beset KG. They still made the East Finals, but they were ousted by a young Dwight Howard led Orlando Magic team. In 2010, led by KG again, Boston made it all the way to the Finals, even though they stumbled their way to a fourth seed during the regular season. They had the Lakers on the ropes, but they couldn't close it out, much to my chagrin. I'm not a Celtics fan, but I loathe the Lakers. I will say though, KG made me root for the Celtics during his 6 years there.

In 2013, on draft day, KG and Paul Pierce were traded to the Nets, as the Celtics went into full tank mode. This trade now looks horrible, but at the time it looked great for the Nets. They needed some tough veterans, and who better than KG and Pierce to be those guys. Well, this did not go as well as most predicted. the Nets made the playoffs, but KG was hurt a lot, and the Nets never made it past round 2.

After the failed Nets experiment, KG returned to his first NBA home, Minnesota. He looked older and a bit slower, but he was the perfect griseled vet for the young T'Wolves. He got to mentor 2 of the better young players in the NBA right now in Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins. If I were in my early 20's, and in the NBA, I would one hundred percent choose KG as my mentor. He knows the game in and out, and gave his all to basketball.

I will always be a big, big KG fan. I walk around my house yelling "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!" all the time. I called myself the "Big Ticket" when I played high school basketball. I developed a jumper at the free throw line because KG did. I started to play defense because KG talked about how it wins titles. He was my basketball mentor without him even knowing it, and I know that I'm not the only fan that feels this way.

This upcoming NBA season is going to be odd to not see him or Tim Duncan out there. Kobe Bryant, I could care less about you.

Thank you Kevin Garnett for 21 wonderful, All Star filled, MVP winning, title winning and perennial playoff appearances years of basketball. You are one of the greatest to ever play. I cannot wait for your Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It will be well deserved and great.

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Milllennial Man Podcast. Last year he ranked all the NBA teams, and got so very close to a true prediction. Will he do it again this year? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter to find out.