If Timberwolves meet Celtics in NBA finals, Kevin Garnett isn't picking a side
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett may be the best player in Minnesota Timberwolves history, but he didn't win a championship with the team. He had to wait for his ring until he went to the Boston Celtics.
Now, with both of Garnett's most beloved teams in their respective conference finals, the Big Ticket said he won't pick a side if they battle for the NBA championship.
"I'm 50/50 lord, I'm love-love," Garnett said on his podcast, KG Certified. "I'm the only one that can sit here in the middle and root for both. I'm the only one that can do that in the world."
Paul Pierce, who was Garnett's teammate when the Celtics won the 2008 NBA finals, taunted Garnett about his fence-sitting, but Garnett was having none of it.
"Y'all can't tell me what side to be on. I'm both sides," Garnett said. "I'm part Wolf, part Celtic ... Them my young boys in Boston, them my young boys in Minny."
Those young boys in Minny are in the Western Conference finals for the first time since Garnett's playing days. In the 2004 postseason, Garnett — who was the MVP that year — led the Wolves to a penultimate series matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, which they lost 4-2. When Garnett was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he said his only regret is that he "didn't get to bring a championship" to Minnesota.
This year's Wolves team is certainly the best non-Garnett squad in franchise history. They went 56-26 in the regular season, swept the Phoenix Suns in the opening round of the playoffs and knocked out the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in round two. They're now four wins away from the NBA finals and have homecourt advantage over the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
The Wolves drafted Garnett with the fifth overall pick in 1995. He played 12 seasons in Minnesota before being traded to Boston. Then, after a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets, Garnett returned to the Wolves to finish his career. He retired in 2016. He remains the Wolves' all-time leader in nearly every major statistic.
Garnett also has been vocal about his dislike of Wolves owner Glen Taylor, who earlier this year rescinded his plans to sell the team, claiming prospective buyers Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore missed the closing deadline. Rodriguez and Lore — who are already minority owners — disputed his claims and the two sides are reportedly in arbitration to settle the dispute. Garnett once mounted an unsuccessful bid to buy the Wolves.
In a television appearance, Garnett told Stephen A. Smith he plans to attend at least one Wolves game during the Western Conference finals.
"I got to," Garnett said. "I got to."
Garnett said he also plans to attend a Celtics game this series.