The 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves‘ 58-24 regular season record is still the franchise best. Minnesota also had a 70% win percentage with last season’s 68.3%, being the second-best. They were the number one seed in the Western Conference and made it to the finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. But before the playoffs, there was an All-Star game where Kevin Garnett had received more votes in comparison to Shaquille O’Neal. Unfortunately for KG, Shaq not only outscored him but also earned the MVP award.

Before the game, the Big Ticket was sharp with his outfit game, as per his former teammate. Only 2 Wolves players were on the team, apart from Kevin Garnett, who was the highest-voted player from the Western Conference (1,780,918). Sam Cassell made the cut thanks to votes from other coaches. KG was wearing a suit, which Cassell had never seen before. Not just the suit, Garnett paired it with Tom Ford shoes. But, as soon as the game started, it did end well on the court for the Wolves Star.

Among all the starters, KG scored the lowest points (12), and Shaq from the bench scored the highest in the match (24). O’Neal (1,453,286) was benched because Yao Ming (1,484,531) had received more votes in comparison to the Center position. The Lakers star also contributed with 11 rebounds and 63% FG.

Unhappy with his performance, Kevin Garnett decided to fly back to Minnesota, as the All-Star game was held at the Lakers’ home turf. Cassell agreed, and they were flying back in KG’s private jet. “He got a bag with the suit, the shoes, the shirt, the tie and he walked past the trash can and throw it in the trash can,” Cassell said via the Knuckleheads podcast. The suit was not bad, but Garnett did not want anybody to have the suit because of his poor performance.

“No one deserve to wear that suit how I played,” Garnett was visibly dejected by his performance. But, the Western Conference team won the game 135-132. Kobe Bryant was the second-highest-voted player in the West with 1,759,717. Plus, he contributed with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. In total, 7 players scored in double digits for the West team, and Kevin Garnett was the lowest of them all.

Kevin Garnett and his Hulk Hogan mode in the locker room

This was not the first time Cassell had seen his teammate being upset with the performance. During the season, KG averaged 24.2 points and 13.2 rebounds, which are his highest averages to date. Thus, he was able to win the 2004 MVP award with 120 first votes.

But even with the awards, there were few games where Kevin Garnett was unhappy with his performance and his coping mechanism was of an extreme level. As per Cassell, “He coming in the locker room just tear his jersey off.” KG wouldn’t stop there, “Tear his shorts off, cut his tape off his ankles, and cut his sneakers all up and everything.”

This would help the Big Ticket to calm himself, as he would wear new gear for the rest of the game. So, instead of tearing his suit and Tom Ford shoes, KG just binned them. It was a bittersweet season for Garnett, as Wolves would fall short of the Championship to the Lakers. However, 4 years later he got his revenge when he beat the Lakers for his only Championship in 2008.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.