Kevin Maurice Garnett (born May 19, 1976 in Mauldin, South Carolina) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), 220 lb (100 kg/16 st) power forward is regarded as one of the best all-around players in the NBA. His accomplishments include being voted Most Valuable Player of the 2003-04 season, NBA Defensive Player of the Year of the 2007-08 season, being named to eleven All-Star teams and being named to eight All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams. He is also the all-time leader in NBA seasons played with averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.
After graduating from Farragut Career Academy, he was the fifth player drafted in 1995. He became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years. His nicknames include "The Big Ticket", "KG", "Go-Go Gadget Arms", "The Kid", and formerly "The Franchise" (after being known as the Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise player).
On July 31, Kevin Garnett, now wearing #5, was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick (top 3 protected) and the 2009 first-round pick Minnesota had traded to Boston in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade of 2006. The 7-for-1 deal constitutes the largest number of players traded for a single player in league history. At the time of the trade, Garnett had the longest current tenure of any player in the NBA with one team, having played for the Timberwolves for his first 12 seasons (a total of 927 games). Garnett is cited at ESPN.com as saying he is proud to be a part of the Celtics, and hopes to continue its proud tradition and basketball success. On the day the trade was announced, Garnett signed a three-year $60 million contract extension that will start after his current deal runs out in two years.
On August 1, the day after signing his Celtics contract, Garnett threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park prior to a Red Sox-Orioles game. Garnett has claimed to be a long-time Red Sox fan.
On January 24, it was announced that Garnett led all players in final votes received in the NBA All-Star Ballot that determined the starters for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Garnett received 2,399,148 votes, the 6th highest total in NBA All-Star Balloting history. Among active players, Garnett's 11 All-Star selections rank second to Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, who has appeared 14 times in the All-Star Game. However, Garnett was unable to play due to an abdominal strain, and Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace him. East All-Star head coach Doc Rivers replaced Garnett with Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh in the starting lineup.
On March 8, Garnett passed 20,000 points for his career, becoming the 32nd player in NBA history to achieve that mark, with a layup in the 2nd quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies. The only other active players who have passed that mark are Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant.
On April 22, Garnett was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2007-08 season. It was the only major award a Celtic player had not claimed since the franchise's foundation in 1946. However, Garnett claimed it was a team effort which helped him win the award.
On June 17, Garnett helped the Celtics to their 17th NBA Championship, with 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.