Gold!
Kevin Garnett had played basketball virtually non-stop. He spent most of August with the USA Men's Basketball Team, getting ready for the 2000 Olympics in September in Sydney, Australia. NBC did televise some of their games, though understandably on tape-delay. I remember staying up late to watch them, and cheering on the U.S. team. I remember watching this special segment, where Ahmad Rashad and KG toured an Australian zoo. It was funny. As I look at KG clutching and admiring his Olypmic medal along with teammate Vince Carter on the podium -- both giddy like little kids -- I realize just how much winning means to KG. As if that's all he had never wanted. A little success. A little glory. A little medal. A little smile. Not an "hahahaha" type of smile. But a smile of innocence and appreciation. On that podium, Garnett looks like a little kid who has just won something special for the first time in his life. And he's never looked so genuinely happy.

Whoops...Busted
Just before the start of the season, around the time of training camp, the Minnesota Timberwolves organization were caught red-handed in signing an secret, under-the-table contract with Joe Smith. David Stern came down hard on the Timberwolves, fining the organization $3.5 million, and stripped the club of its first-round draft picks for the next five years. And that wasn't all. The league suspended owner Glen Taylor. And director-of-basketball-operations Kevin McHale agreed to a leave of absence until the following August. I think the NBA wanted to make an example of the Timberwolves. According to most reports, these sort of secret deals are not uncommon in pro sports. But the thing was, Glen Taylor and Joe Smith actually had the contract written and signed on paper. A big no-no. What really hurt the Timberwolves was the loss of those five draft picks. That was a huge blow to the team. This meant that the team would have a difficult time improving and recruiting new talents. An this would obviously have an impact on KG, who needed more help around him if the team was to go far in the Playoffs. The Timberwolves organization as a whole was still reeling from Malik Sealy's tragic death in May, and now this. It's almost too much to handle -- and the season hasn't even begun! Ultimately, the upcoming year would be a great test to the team, to see what they were made of, and see how much heart they had.

My Haven
In around late October 2000, I became a regular poster at Kevin Garnett's Official Website at AthletesDirect. Before then, I visited the site practically everyday, but I didn't really particpate on the boards or interacted with other fans. I do remember back in May, I was the first person to post a message to with KG a happy 24th birthday. And a day later -- the day Malik Sealy was taken from us -- tons of well-wishers poured in to pay their condolences. The board came alive, everyone had nice things to say. Kevin Garnett himself even dropped in to say respond to these messages. That was truly, truly special. Fastward to five months later, in October, the board didn't have too many people. I figured I would try to talk to other fans, see what they had to say about the KG, the Wolves, and hoops in general. Three particular people who were already there -- SportyChick, Monimo, JuliaQC -- welcomed me with open arms. They're good people, for whom I got nothing but love and respect. They're who I roll with. Around November, the message board switched to a new format, which was more compact and user-friendly. The only problem with it was that topic threads keep getting pushed out, while getting replaced by new ones. So it was impossible to keep a thread on the first page. But we made use of what we had, which was still a very nice community made up of pure KG fans. AthletesDirect also hosted official sites for other NBA players: Kobe, T-Mac, Vince, Chris Webber, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller. There was a lot of hostility on those boards. Vince fans and Kobe fans at constantly at each other's throats, hurling insults back and forth at the two boards. Garnett's message board, however, was very, very peaceful. All of us -- and there were not too many, probably less than 10 regulars -- got along well.

Buh-bye NIKE. Hello AND1
I found that Kevin parted ways with NIKE sometime around December on his website. He mentioned in his online journal that he had recently signed with AND1. This was big news. After all, KG new signature shoe -- the beautiful NIKE Air Flightposite KG (AKA Air Garnett IV) -- had just been released not so long ago. KG also had a history with NIKE. Remember the Fun Police? That was a lot of fun. And just a year ago, the Air Garnett III (of which I'm a proud owner), had been very popular. So why the switch? Well, KG expalained that NIKE didn't really allow him to have much input in the designing process. Wanting an outlet for his creativity, Garnett had all sorts of ideas, and was really keen on having his OBF insignia or theme. But NIKE did not allow him much liberty. So when Garnett's contract with NIKE expired late 2000, the two parties parted ways amiably. Garnett then decided to join AND1, who already had players like Stephon Marbury and Latrell Sprewell. The change was a successful one, as AND1 began running TV spots -- "Superstar" and "The Dream" -- featuring Garnett offering philosophical insights to the game of basketball. The ads did not disappoint, and were thoroughly enjoyable. [Note: a year later, in March 2002, AND1 released KG's first signature shoe, the gorgeous KG Select, which featured many details that people could appreciate.]

The Push for 11

My Fingers are Longer than Yours...Especially the Middle One...
It happened just like that. Bam. Out of the blue. On April 15, 2001, NBC televised a Sunday afternoon game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz. It was a tight contest all the way. Garnett and Malone, two of the most outstanding forwards in the game, going head-to-head, toe-to-toe. I was enjoying the game, chillin', rooting for the Wolves to break the game open. In the third quarter, things got a little hairy. KG, posting up, turned around and drove on Karl Malone, who fouled him. Malone did not like the call and had some choice words for the officials. Suddenly, he was T-ed up and tossed from the game. I was glad, but wondered why one tech would throw him out. Apparently, according to NBC (I think Mike Breen and Bill Walton called the game) Malone and KG each picked up a techincal foul earlier in the game. So Malone headed for the locker room, with the Target Center cheering. About a minute later (with 7:24 to go in the third quarter), Garnett was called for fouling a Jazz player. It really wasn't a good call, but I'm biased. KG evidently did not like the call, since it put him in foul trouble. Walking toward official Jim Clark, he also had a few words for the referee. I had no idea what was said, but apparently Clark wasn't and motioned for a technical foul on Garnett. Utterly stunned, Garnett dropped to his knees and hands, but immediately popped back up, stomping toward Clark with his open-palms up, shouting "You're takin' me out?! You're taking me out of the game?!" Then Garnett exploded, he bent over and screamed in Clark's face, spitting out what was most likely a profanity-laced diatribe. Clark just stood there, looking like a moron. Eventually, Garnett turned around and started to leave the court. His mouth continued to run, and he looked absolutely furious. He then turned around and extended a long middle finger at Clark, and headed for the tunnel. He pounded the door with his right fist in utter frustration. It was the first ejection of Garnett's career. I was shocked. I really couldn't believe what had just happened, and I had never seen Garnett so angry. The moment will always stand out in my mind. Not because KG lost his cool. Obviously, the middle-finger was inappropriate -- especially on national TV, with so many kids watching -- but you realize that KG is only human. Yet, no matter how much money he makes, no matter how many cars he has, no matter how big a house he's got, he still wants to win. He still wants to play basketball. He still wants to pour out his blood, sweat, and tears. He's still that fierce competitor who's passionate, vibrant, and exuberant. That's Kevin Garnett.

The Cut-throat Western Conference
The Western Conference was absolutely brutal and merciless. No team won 60 games at the season's end, but seven teams won 50 games or more. The Timberwolves managed to win 47 games, grabbing the final Playoff spot. Their mark of 47-35 was the best ever for any 8th seed in history. That's how tough it was in the West. The Timberwolves lost four of their last five regular season games, with the only win against Utah (yes, the Woofies went on to win that game with Kevin fuming in the locker room). But, it didn't matter. It was pretty much set: They were going to play the 1st seeded San Antonio Spurs, the team that beat them in the 1999 Playoffs. It would be Garnett versus Duncan all over again.

Round One Woes Continue
We were the underdogs in the series against the Spurs. Sometimes we played like it. But for the most part, we stayed competitive. It's not like we never had a chance. The Garnett-Duncan matchup was exhilarating to watch. It's one of those edge-of-the-your seat viewing experiences. Frustratingly, the Spurs took the first two games, leaving the Timberwolves down 0-2 heading home. Game 3 at the Target Center was great, though. We bounced back and won it 93-84, and I remember being somewhat relieved afterwards. I guess anytime you sense a little hope, you feel better. Game 4 was pain all over again, though. As time ran out in the fourth quarter, my heart slowly sank. It's like, "This is it ... it's happening again. We're not gonna make it." I also remember feeling, "Holy damn, I hate Tim Duncan and the Spurs." And the truth is, being bounced from the first round for the fifth straight year hurts like hell. Not just for KG, but for me as well. And surely for all Minnesota Timberwolves fans, who want to see KG succeed so much.

20-10-5: Part Two
And so ends another season for Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Playoff exit hurts. Not just for KG, but for me as well. I remember feeling so sad. But nothing can take away KG's terrific season. He finishes the season with averages of 22.0 points, 11.40 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.79 blocks, and 1.37 steals. This is the first year that KG's numbers did not increase from the previous year. Arguably, his 1999-2000 numbers were better, but this latest outing is still more than impressive. This is the second of his 20-10-5 effort, making him the seventh player in league history to be able to do that more than once.