NBA superstar Kevin Garnett ends 21-year career

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - Future NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett bid the game "farewell" Friday after 21 seasons.

"I'm just thankful, I can't even put it into words," Garnett, 40, said in a video posted to his Instagram account.

"I'm just thankful for everybody and the love. I never thought people would love me like this," the Minnesota Timberwolves star says in a voiceover as the video shows him walking around the team's home court at the Target Center by himself.

"We going to be all right, man. I don't expect this to be easy. But so far so good. Stay tuned," he says, before the "FAREWELL" appears at the end of the video.

Standing 7’1”, Garnett disliked being called a 7-footer and insisted over the years to be officially listed as 6’11” because since he wanted to be appreciated for his extreme agility for his height, and he refused to be anchored around the rim like a traditional big man.

Known for his passion for and intensity in the game, Garnett was first nicknamed "The Kid" after being drafted by the Timberwolves out of high school as the 5th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

He became the first player drafted out of high school in almost a decade, but became an example for the sport’s future superstars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady, who joined the league without playing college basketball.

Garnett spent the next 12 seasons in Minnesota until he was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007 after years of frustration and disappointment.

Between 2007 and 2013 in Boston, Garnett was known as "The Big Ticket" and helped the Celtics to win their 17th NBA championship, which was also his first and only during his career.

After taking his talents to the Brooklyn Nets for two seasons, Garnett returned to the team that drafted him in February 2015 to join his first NBA head coach, Flip Saunders, in Minnesota. Unfortunately, Saunders died eight months later in October.

Garnett, also known as "KG", was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2004 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. He was chosen by fans and coaches to 15 All-Star games and, in 2003, he won the All-Star Game MVP.

He was chosen four times to the All-NBA First Team, three times to the All-NBA Second Team, and two times to the All-NBA Third Team. He also led the NBA in rebounds between 2004 and 2007.

Garnett finished his career with 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists. Only two other players have recorded those numbers: hall of famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

Garnett ranks fifth in NBA games played, third in minutes, 20 on the all-time scoring list, 10 in rebounds, 47 in assists, 17 in steals and 19 in blocks.