New York’s trade to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns surprised many in the NBA community, including Minnesota Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett. The 2004 MVP started and ended his career in Minnesota, and even played with KAT in his final year in the league. Therefore, he didn’t quite expect the T-Wolves to part ways with a franchise legend like KAT immediately after a Conference Finals run.
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After the trade became official, Towns posted a heartfelt message on Instagram to the city of Minnesota, the T-Wolves team and the fans. KAT was with the Timberwolves for 9 years after he was picked #1 overall in the 2015 Draft. He stuck with the team through rebuilds, ownership changes and even their worst basketball years.
Therefore, he posted a montage of his best moments with the franchise to thank Minnesota, which included his Rookie of the Year win, Conference Finals appearance, and Draft Day announcement.
Garnett, who has a great relationship with the T-Wolves fanbase, reposted KAT’s video message on his Instagram stories.
It seems even the 2008 champion was at a loss for words, as he captioned the story “still can’t believe this… onto the next part of the journey”.
KG on KAT leaving pic.twitter.com/odje0Ns5Q2
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) October 3, 2024
Garnett was a part of the last Wolves side to make the WCF, exactly 20 years before KAT and Anthony Edwards did it last year. After witnessing KAT’s rise in the NBA from a front-row seat, Garnett knew exactly how much he meant to the city and the team.
For example, when the Wolves acquired Rudy Gobert via trades, the consensus in the NBA community was that Towns would have to be traded. However, KAT showed willingness to adapt.
Letting Gobert play the role of the primary center, the four-time All-Star assumed the role of a power forward, and formed a lethal front court with the Frenchman.
This resulted in their best season since Garnett’s famous MVP year. They secured the 3rd seed in the stacked Western Conference after being the #1 seed for the majority of the year.
KAT and KG’s relationship
When the Timberwolves drafted KAT in 2015, they were in the midst of a rebuild. KAT was the obvious choice for the first pick. As is the practice with rebuilding teams, they often have a veteran on their roster to guide the star rookies in the right direction. For the 2015-16 Wolves, that veteran was KG.
In an NBA Cares video from 2016, KG claimed, “I wont push someone unless they push themselves.”
However, he took a special interest in Towns, and they were able to build a solid veteran-rookie relationship that has since evolved into a genuine friendship.
KG and KAT grew so close that when Towns appeared on Podcast P last year, he recalled how him and Garnett would play Call of Duty while travelling for games. He said, “Think about this, Kevin Garnett, one of the greatest trash talkers of all time, is in a Call of Duty lobby, arguing with a 9-year-old.”
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, Minnesota had to trade him to improve their prospects for next season.
