Kevin Garnett can finally breathe a sigh of relief. His No. 21 jersey is going to the rafters on February 28, 2027, but it didn’t happen without a decade-spanning personal battle with ex-owner Glen Taylor.
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“Yeah, they made a motherf***er wait 10 years,” Garnett said when he was congratulated for his jersey getting retired on KG Certified. “They made a motherf***er wait long enough… But it’s all good. It’s all good. We going 21 up there. Shout out to Marc and Alex for getting it done. I appreciate those guys.”
Often regarded as the greatest player in Timberwolves history, Garnett played 14 seasons with the team across two stints and won the NBA MVP award in 2004.
Minnesota traded him to the Boston Celtics in 2007, where he won the 2008 championship. He spent six seasons in Boston before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013. In 2015, he made his way back to Minnesota with one key promise in place.
Garnett had discussed the idea of joining the Timberwolves’ ownership program with long-time coach Flip Saunders. Taylor, then the owner, was said to understand that Garnett wanted a seat at the table, or at least a key front-office role, after retiring.
Unfortunately, in the same year, Saunders died of cancer, and with him, Garnett’s understanding with Taylor effectively disappeared. The Timberwolves’ icon felt that the owner had gone back on his word, thus robbing him of his rightful place in the front office.
Naturally, he was furious. He put Taylor on blast in multiple interviews. “Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip,” he told The Athletic in 2020.
“For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight-up person, straight-up businessman, and when Flip died, everything went with him.”
He explained that he had no interest in making any deals with Glen Taylor or his organization. He compared the businessman to being a “snake” and someone he wouldn’t want to be in touch with at all.
As a result, Kevin Garnett refused to let the Timberwolves retire his jersey for as long as Glen Taylor was still the owner. As a result, Garnett refused to let the Timberwolves retire his jersey as long as Taylor owned the team.
In 2025, Taylor finally sold the Minnesota Timberwolves to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore for $1.5 billion. The new owners reached out to Garnett, and in December 2025, the team named him an ambassador and announced plans to retire his No. 21.
Finally, Garnett’s wishes had come true. The Timberwolves, a team he loved so dearly, no longer answered to Glen Taylor, the man he hated with the same passion.
In August 2026, the Timberwolves set the date. Garnett’s jersey will be raised at Target Center after a home game against the Boston Celtics on Feb. 28, 2027.
Truly, the player has dedicated his life to the team. When he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, he opened up about never being able to bring a trophy home for the team.
At least now, his jersey can be revered the way his career was.