In 1995, Kevin Garnett made what was then an almost unheard-of leap directly from high school basketball to the NBA. Overcoming tremendous odds and a troubled personal background, Kevin not only fit into the world of professional basketball but excelled and reached the pinnacle of basketball glory. Leading one of the worst teams in the league to its first-ever playoff appearance, Garnett racked up personal accolades and wealth before becoming a part of the Boston Celtics.
Early Life
Kevin Maurice Garnett was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on May 19, 1976. Kevin grew up with his sister and single mother in the largely black section of the town known as Nickeltown, where he had many friends and relatives. Though Garnett had only intermittent interaction with his father, he knew his dad had been a successful high school basketball player, and this helped spark young Kevin's fascination with the sport. Idolizing Magic Johnson, Garnett spent hours playing basketball on local playgrounds, even sneaking out of his room after dark to practice.
High School Years
As a freshman at Maudlin High, Garnett was typically matched up against bigger and older players. Yet he managed to average 12.5 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks a game that season. Garnett played on an Amateur Athletic Union summer team over the next two years and continued to be a high school sensation. For his senior year, in the wake of academic and social turmoil, Garnett moved to Chicago and played for Farragut High School. Garnett helped coach Wolf Nelson and the Farragut Admirals to a 28-2 record and a city championship, averaging 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game. That season he attracted the attention of top college basketball recruiters, but Garnett not qualify for collegiate ball because his test scores were too low.
Professional Career
Garnett announced he would forgo college and enter the 1995 NBA draft at the age of 19. Standing at more than 6 feet, 10 inches and weighing only 200 lbs., Garnett was skinny but clearly ready for the NBA. He was the fifth pick behind a handful of college standouts and became the youngest player in the league at the time. Drafted by former Boston Celtic Kevin McHale to the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves, who'd never won more than 30 games in a single season, Garnett signed a three-year, $5.6 million contract. In Garnett's first season, the Timberwolves won only 26 games. The following year, the Timberwolves won 40 games and made their first playoff appearance, and Garnett made his first appearance in the NBA all-star game. Over the next six years, the Timberwolves would make it to the playoffs only to be eliminated in the first round each time. In the breakout 2003-04 season, the T-wolves made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time and Garnett was named league MVP.
Celtics Champs
By the summer of 2007, Garnett had achieved virtually all of his dreams save one -- to win an NBA championship. After 12 seasons with the Timberwolves, at the age of 31, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics for seven players, the most ever exchanged for a single player in the history of the league, and signed a three-year $60 million contract extension. Garnett was greeted with a standing ovation at the team's season opener, in which he scored 22 points and made 20 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals. By the end of the season, Garnett became the first Boston Celtic ever named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and the Boston Celtics, with Kevin's help, won their 17th NBA Championship. Immediately after the game, a crying Garnett famously exclaimed, "Anything is possible!"
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