"It was a special time," Kevin Garnett said after his first game back with the Minnesota Timberwolves. "I can't put it into words."
The night started off with a fitting tribute. As the Wolves introduced their 21st starting lineup of the season, the familiar and yet recently estranged face of Kevin Garnett was re-introduced to the Target Center as a member of the squad.
The Wolves announced the four other starters before breaking into an early tribute video of KG's previous stint with the franchise. At the end of the video, the familiar call of "and at the other forward, 6'11" from Farragut Academy High School, number 21 Kevin Garnett" reverberated throughout the arena walls and over capacity crowd. Everybody in the stands stood the entire time during layup lines before the game, just to watch Garnett back in the familiar shooting shirt and aerated warm-up pants. The building was sold out and 500 standing room only tickets were sold for a team entering the night 31 games under .500 on the season.
"This is full circle," KG said after the game. "Tonight, it was just over the top. I did not know the city missed me like this."
That's what Garnett has meant to the Minnesota franchise and the landscape of professional basketball in Minneapolis. Without him on the team, it's been a laughing stock of immense proportions. Incompetent moves and incapable play have plagued the Target Center. With him, hope of a better tomorrow and an entertaining present have rung true. While the 38-year old KG was not the spry, game-changing lightning rod of intensity Minnesota remembered him as, the wily veteran was a steadying presence in a chaotic riot of emotions and jittery decisions in the early going.
The beginning of the game was a disaster for the Wolves. They missed their first 11 shots, turned the ball over five times in the first 6:43 of the game, and were down 13-1 without any semblance of serenity in their attack. For years, Garnett was that jittery force in the opening moments of big games for the Wolves. He'd come out with too much emotion, hyped out of his mind. He'd fire jumpers off the back iron or the backboard and need to find a balance to his mental state on the court before his historically brilliant play would come through.
As a seasoned veteran of nearly 20 years in the NBA, Garnett was no longer the fidgety player but the calming force. He talked players through the beats of Flip Saunders' offense while on the bench. He was teaching all of the young players where they needed to be and what they needed to expect. He was a true extension of what Saunders needed out of his players and he was willing to educate them throughout the night, using every opportunity, good or bad, as a moment of discussion about the game.
Eventually, the Wolves steadied themselves and were able to catch a Washington Wizards' team that is reeling without their full complement of players. And the early moments of mentorship began to yield modest results. Ricky Rubio's wild offensive first half in which he played very good defense but very reckless offense turned into the second half of a steady hand that guided his team's execution. Nikola Pekovic used his size and a bit of patience inside to find the touch around the basket. Kevin Martin became a shot-making machine and several young guys like Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and Adreian Payne found momentary grooves.
Andrew Wiggins, KG's primary mentoring task, showed off all of the skills and potential the Wolves will try to mold. He knocked down jumpers, took players into the paint, and ran the floor for dunks. He left Garnett cheering on the court and cheering on the sidelines, a constant voice of encouragement and leadership in the 20-year old's ear regardless of the results. He preached process and understanding.
"They got here off talent and instinct alone," Garnett said of his young teammates, "and I'm just trying to give them some perspective."
After clawing their way back into it in the first half, the Wolves made a laugher of the second half. The outcome became an inevitable with the Wolves pulling away for a 97-77 victory, despite that 13-1 deficit to begin the game. It was the brief return of relevance to a Wolves' game thanks to the return of Garnett.
The trade of Thaddeus Young was never so much about basketball on the court as it was about a culture within the organization. Any basketball success in the interim is nice but not the end result. The end result is setting Wiggins, LaVine, Dieng, Rubio, and other young players up for extended success that is meaningful for an organization that is often not. Despite his hilarious responses in not wanting to coach someday, Garnett is effectively a coach for the Wolves.
He just also happens to be the starting power forward. After 12 years of hope with the Wolves that was marred by failed trips to the playoffs and a roster petering out during his final few seasons in town, Garnett learned how to get over the top while a member of the Boston Celtics. He learned exactly what it took to get the most out of him and his teammates, and the process of success instead of the process of just winning some games.
The sour taste of Garnett's departure sat with the forward for a long time, but being a part of "first of anything" with the Wolves has always been imperative to Garnett on some level.
"You know, I wasn't really happy with how I left here," Garnett said during his second introductory press conference with the Wolves. "My goal since I've entered the league has always been to win a championship and I wanted it to be here with the Twin Cities. I've always wanted that. You know, wanted to be part of that first of anything when this franchise got over the hump. I got a taste of that in the Western Conference in '04 and just was thirsty ever since.
Once you get that taste, you never lose that. To come, obviously, to win in Boston and to come full circle back home, like I said, I feel like I'm seasoned. I have experience. I have things that I can speak on, that I at one point couldn't. It's perfect. If you ever have a story and this is the fairytale, this is the perfect ending to it."
The Wolves are in the process of building the first roster and core in franchise history that doesn't need Garnett to be successful. And little by little, KG is teaching them how to do it. The importance of his presence can't be put into words.
