This Former Minnesota Athlete Needs A Statue Immediately

Saying Kevin Garnett saved the NBA in Minnesota is not hyperbole. Before being drafted by the Timberwolves 1995, the team was horrible on the court and not a draw for the newly-opened Target Center. In fact, the team was almost moved to New Orleans in the years previous before being sold to Minnesota's Glen Taylor.

The arrival of 'KG,' as he would come to be known to Minnesota sports fans, kicked off a decade of competitive, if frustrating at times, basketball. A team that had never even seen the playoffs in its existence made the postseason eight straight seasons from 1997-2004.

Garnett's Wolves suffered first round playoff exits in each of the team's first seven appearances before KG, who won the league's Most Valuable Player Award, led the team to the Western Conference Finals.

It would be 20 more years before the Wolves again reached a Conference Final.

Ultimately, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics for a pu pu platter of replacement players and draft picks. The Wolves languished at the bottom of the conference standings and Garnett almost immediately won a title in Boston.

In the years since, relations between Garnett and team owner went from bad to worse, which resulted in the Celtics getting around to retiring Garnett's #5 before the Wolves could retire his #21.

However, the Wolves' recent sale from Glen Taylor to the duo of Marc Lorre and Alex Rodriguez should melt much of that ice.

This past weekend the Twins honored Joe Mauer with a bronze statue outside of Target Field. I think the Wolves should not only officially retire KG's #21, but I also think he needs his own statue in front of Target Center... or whatever new arena we end up building for the team.