The long wait to see Kevin Garnett’s No. 21 raised into the Target Center rafters may finally have an end date and an opponent worthy of the occasion.
Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore reported Thursday that he has heard Minnesota is planning Garnett’s jersey retirement for Feb. 28, when the Minnesota Timberwolves host the Boston Celtics.
The Timberwolves have not formally announced the ceremony date. They previously confirmed that Garnett’s number would be retired during the 2026-27 season, and the newly released schedule places Boston at Target Center that night.
Choosing the Celtics would connect the two defining chapters of Garnett’s Hall of Fame career. Minnesota was where he grew up, became an MVP and gave a young franchise its identity. Boston was where he finally became an NBA champion.
The Celtics retired Garnett’s No. 5 in March 2022. Nearly five years later, the number that belongs most deeply to Minnesota could join it in basketball immortality.
Kevin Garnett’s Timberwolves Honor Was Delayed for Years
Getty Former Minnesota Timberwolves player Kevin Garnett is introduced before the start of the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on April 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Few jersey retirements have been more obvious or more complicated.
Garnett remains the greatest player in Timberwolves history, leading the franchise in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, games and minutes. Minnesota selected him fifth overall in the 1995 NBA draft, making him the first player in 20 years to jump directly from high school to the league.
He led the Wolves to eight consecutive playoff appearances and carried them to the 2004 Western Conference Finals after winning the league’s MVP award. No Minnesota player before or since has matched his combination of production, intensity and connection with the fan base.
Yet his No. 21 remained absent from the rafters because of Garnett’s fractured relationship with former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. Garnett stayed away from the organization after retiring in 2016, even as supporters repeatedly called for the franchise to honor him.
The ownership transfer to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez cleared the obstruction. After they completed their purchase from Taylor in 2025, Garnett returned as a Timberwolves and Lynx ambassador and rebuilt his connection to the franchise.
“I’m thrilled to be back home,” Garnett said when the reunion was announced. “Minnesota is where it all began, where I was young, hungry and learning how to compete at the highest level.”
Celtics Matchup Would Bring Garnett’s Career Full Circle
The reconciliation became public in April, when Garnett attended a Wolves home game for the first time since 2018. He entered Target Center alongside Lore and Rodriguez and received the kind of reception that made the unfinished business impossible to ignore.
Now the franchise can complete the reunion against the team that benefited most from Minnesota’s painful decision to trade him.
Garnett joined Boston in 2007 and immediately helped transform the Celtics into champions, winning Defensive Player of the Year during their 2007-08 title season. He spent six seasons there before later returning to Minnesota to close his career.
Boston owns No. 5, but No. 21 belongs to Minnesota. It represents the bark before tipoff, the powder tossed into the air, the Western Conference Finals run and an era when Garnett made the Timberwolves matter every night.
If Feb. 28 becomes official, Target Center will not simply honor the best player in franchise history. Minnesota will finally put its most important basketball memory where it has always belonged.
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