“Kevin Garnett played against the 73-9 Warriors and 72-10 Bulls”: How the Timberwolves legend is the only player who faced the 2 greatest NBA regular season teams of all time

Arjun Julka | 01/08/2021
“Let That Big Fella In”: Michael Jordan Calling 18 y/o Kevin Garnett to a Pick-up Game in a Mall Inspired Him to Skip College

Kevin Garnett is the only NBA player to play against probably two of the greatest teams in NBA history.

KG is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards ever to grace the NBA hardwood. The versatile player is a former league MVP and DPOY.

Garnett played 13 seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves and is the all-time leading scorer in their franchise history. The 6’11” power forward tops the franchise in scoring with 19,201 points.

In 2007, KG was traded to the Boston Celtics, where he won his 1st NBA championship. Garnett’s arrival at the TD Garden led to the formation of a Big 3 in the NBA.

During his 6 seasons with the Celtics, the 15x All-Star had 2 NBA Finals appearances and won one of them in 2008. Garnett averaged 15.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.0 BPG on an impressive 52.0% shooting from the field in his 6 seasons with the Celtics.

In 2013, KG was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he played 2 seasons, before being traded back to the Timberwolves, the city that drafted him. The Hall of Famer ranks 9th on the all-time rebounds list.

Also read: “Giannis will be the 2nd best power forward of all time!”: Kendrick Perkins believes Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki will be left in the dust by the Bucks star in a few years

In his 21-seasons career, the former DPOY played with some of the greatest teams, including the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors.

Kevin Garnett’s stats against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors and 73-1o Chicago Bulls

KG played a mere 11 minutes against the 2016 Golden State Warriors, who won 73-games. Garnett had 5 assists and 2 rebounds in the match, which resulted in the Warriors winning the contest.

Garnett faced the 1996 Chicago Bulls twice during his rookie year. In his first appearance, Garnett had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. However, the Timberwolves lost the contest to Michael Jordan and co.

In his 2nd appearance, KG scored 20-points on an impressive 62.5% shooting from the field. He also had 3 steals and 8 rebounds during the game. Unfortunately, in their 2nd meeting as well, the Wolves lost to the Chicago Bulls.

This made Garnett the only player in history to face both these teams in a span of 2 decades.

Also read: “Kevin Garnett, Zach Randolph, and Rasheed Wallace” Bucks Forward Bobby Portis Reveals His Favorite Players As A Kid

The irony in this situation is KG faced both the teams during different stages of his career. Garnett was a rookie when he faced Michael Jordan and co during 1996.

While against the Warriors, Garnett was at the mere end of his career and coincidently retired the same season the Dubs won 73 games.

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
73-10 Chicago Bulls 73-9 Golden State Warriors boston celtics Kevin Garnett minnesota timberwolves

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

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