Retired NBA star Kevin Garnett, who spent 13 of his 22 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This honor will be recognized by the Boston Celtics as they retire Garnett’s No. 5 jersey. However, he has no interest in having his Timberwolves jersey retired due to issues with team owner Glen Taylor, who he referred to as a “snake motherf—er.”
Speaking with The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Garnett explained his feelings about the Timberwolves and a potential retirement ceremony. He said that he loves the state of Minnesota and the fans, but his issues lie solely with Taylor. The reason is that Garnett says he had an understanding with Taylor and former general manager Flip Saunders. He was supposed to join team ownership following his retirement, but Taylor allegedly backed out after Saunders died from Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015.
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“Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip,” Garnett said during the interview. “For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight up person, straight up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him.”
Garnett is not currently entertaining the idea of having his number retired by the Timberwolves. He doesn’t believe that Taylor genuinely wants to do so. Instead, the Uncut Gems star says that the community is “pressuring” ownership to honor him.
“I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart,” Garnett said. “But I don’t do business with snakes. I don’t do business with snake motherf—ers. I try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like.”
Garnett is believed to be the best player in Timberwolves history. He earned 10 of his 15 career All-Star nods with Minnesota. He also won the 2004 MVP trophy during his tenure with the team. Garnett won the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics, but he is believed to have had a bigger impact on the Timberwolves.
While he may not have his jersey retired in the near future, Garnett will be forever enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is part of a class that also includes the late Kobe Bryant, San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan and WNBA star Tamika Catchings. This is a stacked class of basketball stars, and Garnett is excited to be entering the Hall of Fame with these peers.
“To go in with these two guys, I couldn’t ask for two other people to go in with,” Garnett said. “And shout out to Tamika Catchings too. I’m a huge fan of Catch; Catch has put that grind in, she’s put that work in, and it’s dope to see all of us right here.”
