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Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett has reportedly agreed to rejoin the Minnesota Timberwolves, his team for 14 of his 21 NBA seasons, as well as the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx in an off-court role, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday (December 18).
Garnett, 49, who played for the Timberwolves during his first 12 and final two seasons, will also have his No. 21 jersey retired by the franchise, according to Charania, who credited new owners Marc Lore and baseball legend Alex Rodriguez, for the reunion following a fallout with former owner Glen Taylor.
"Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett is reuniting with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Lynx in a new, all-encompassing role involving business, community efforts and content development, sources told ESPN. His long-awaited No. 21 Wolves jersey retirement will also happen in Minnesota," Charania wrote on his X account. "Garnett had been distant from the Wolves organization since his playing career ended in 2016 due to a fallout with Glen Taylor, refusing to have his jersey retired, but built a rapport with new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and the sides found common ground on a reunion."
Garnett is widely regarded as the greatest player in the Timberwolves' history, holding the majority of the franchise's records including points (19,201), assists (4,216), rebounds (10,718), blocks (1,590), games (970) and minutes played (7,647) and was its first and only NBA MVP. The 49-year-old was selected by Minnesota out of high school at No. 5 overall in the 1995 NBA Draft, six years into the team's existence.
Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in July 2007 and won his first and only NBA championship that ensuing season. The 15-time All-Star spent six seasons in Boston before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 and traded back to Minnesota midway through the 2014-15 season.