lost in the current state of affairs in the nba is the true magnificence of one of the greatest players of all time.  with so much focus on other topics - the new ball, league expansion, globalization - as well as individuals - stern, cuban, riley, artest, bryant, james, nash - the biggest ticket gets lost in the shuffle.

many analysts, league officials, coaches, scouts, and fans are likely to mention kevin garnett when talking about the league's better players...it would be foolish to think that he isn't a premier player in the nba.  but too often, those comments are followed by a qualifying statement, such as "yea, but he's never won anything" or "what a waste of talent" or "too bad he played during the same period as tim duncan." 

i agree that it is a shame his talent and ability has been utilized thus far in a mediocre city with a mediocre (at best) team, and led by subpar management.  mchale's mismanagement of the t'wolves is well-documented.  he lost three draft picks and accrued other sanctions for his illegal signing of joe smith.  his draft choices, trades, and free agent signings are suspect at best (see: olowakandi, mike james, et al.).  he assembled one solid team (with spree and cassel), in 2004, and kg led them to the conference finals, where they were beaten by the kobe/shaq juggernaut.  this year, besides ricky davis (acquired in a trade last year) and randy foye (#1 pick this year), how many timberwolves can you name? 

i was excited when rumors of a.i. to minnesota surfaced, as i am whenever talk of kg to the lakers, bulls, or another team pops up.  i truly believe that had garnett had jerry west or brian colangelo in the front office, or had a trade or a draft pick here or there went another way, we would be looking at multiple rings on kg's fingers.  i maintain that if he was in san antonio instead of tim duncan, he would have filled a hand and started on the other by now.  and if he goes to the lakers, they will contend until he and kobe choose to hang 'em up.

however, those are the wishes of the fans and pundits who know kg's true talent and know the clock is ticking on his body and his mindset.  we are the ones who want to see kg succeed at whatever cost.  no one wants to win more than he does (as is evidenced by his unparalleled work ethic and dedication, personified most often in the form of primal shrieks), but he does not agree that his loyalty to those who drafted, shaped, and aided him should be sacrificed in the process.  mchale has done juuuust enough to maintain his interest in the city and team year after year to keep him from fully engaging his suitors.

the bottom line is that as long as the status quo remains - mchale wastes time and picks/players and garnett retains his unbridled loyalty - the timberwolves will never win a championship, and kg will be remembered as a great player whose time never came.  his supporters will say he never had the talent around him, the general manager was a failure, the city never fully embraced the team, or he never received coaching necessary to win titles.  by contrast, his detractors will proclaim that his contract ate up too much of the salary cap, that he could have singlehandedly taken over any playoff series, that he choked in said series (his numbers in most categories, including scoring and rebounds, actually increased in the postseason), that if he cared about winning he would have demanded a trade, and that he was overrated from the beginning (choosing to compare him to duncan).  

while the debate over his legacy will remain long after his playing days are through, the crucial message in this post is this: realize and comprehend the greatness of what you are seeing while kg is still around.  when talking about the best players in the nba, the truly elite, once-in-a-generation players, his name should be in the first breath without question.  when speaking about dirk, nash, arenas, kobe, d-wade, lebron, etc., kevin garnett's name should be at the top of the list.  he should absolutely be considered for the mvp each and every year.  

by no means am i saying that he is always better than those aforementioned players, but his numbers, passion, personality, and uniqueness (when was the last time you saw a 7-footer with a 7'4" wingspan and a 38" vertical leap?) combine to produce a truly unbelievable basketball player.  i am not going to delve too deeply into his statistics, so i thought i would choose just two to identify his abilities, since i believe they speak to his all-around play.  first, he is the first and only player in nba history with at least 18,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 4,000 assists, 1,200 steals, and 1,500 blocks in his playing career.  not one other player in the history of the league, no matter his talent, supporting cast, city, coach, or any other variable, has ever displayed this kind of tenacity and ability in so many categories.  second, his player efficiency rating (PER), a widely-accepted method of judging a player's effectiveness per minute on the court, has varied between 25.50 and 29.50 this century.  according to PER creator john hollinger, that range (with an average of 27.50) places garnett in the "strong MVP candidate" category (right below the "runaway MVP candidate" level)...and he has done this for 7 years now, winning the award only once.    

aside from the 10 all-star appearances, 7 all-nba teams, 7 all-defensive teams, and all the other accolades that he has compiled in his career, i believe the above lines (in bold) truly captures what kg is all about: unselfishness and team-oriented play, playing every possession as if it were your last, showing skill and desire on both ends of the floor, and stepping on the court for each game with the mindset that you want to win more than anything and can win against anyone.

off the court, his teammates and coaches sing nothing but his praises as well.  aside from one comment during the 2005 season, when he compared going into a game with going to war (blown out of proportion due to heated wartime debate in america), i cannot think of another time when he offended player, coach, group, or anyone with his language.  much of his charity work goes unnoticed, but he recently won the nba's citizenship award in 2006 for his work with hurrican katrina victims.  teammates have also never had any ill will with kg, aside from sam cassel joking that he was "too intense sometimes."  he doesn't have the rap sheet associated with stars who have been in the nba for about as long as he has (see iverson, allen and bryant, kobe).  personally, the biggest reason i chose kg as my favorite player way back when was his first act upon signing his long-term, $100+ million contract.  he moved his closest high school friends (known as the OBF, or "official block family") to houses next to his out in minnesota.  that solidified him in my mind as a person whose heart and compassion equal his talent in his craft.

i fully understand that those reading posts on this site are used to throwing around statistics and opinions, which is primarily what this author has provided in this writing.  so i ask that each person take the time out to watch a timberwolves game.  you will see kg run the offense, attract double-and triple-teams, set screens, look to pass, rebound at will, block shots, alter the direction and intention of driving guards, and he will stand out as by far the most valuable and multitalented player on the court.  statistics don't lie, and when you read in the box score that he led the wolves in 4 of 5 categories, and had 13 in the 4th quarter, that actually happened.  but look deeper into the game, and realize that they would be nothing without him...realize that this is someone the likes of whom we may not see for a long, long time. 

if you think next year will be the dawning of a new era, with the arrival of oden, durant, and wright, think again...each one of them would be lucky to be considered a "poor man's" kevin garnett.