For quite a few NBA franchises, you can have serious debates on who is their greatest player, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are not one of them. Kevin Garnett is well clear of everyone else for the Timberwolves, and he actually is the only player to be an NBA franchise’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
Points
1. Kevin Garnett – 19,201
2. Karl-Anthony Towns – 11,772
Rebounds
1. Kevin Garnett – 10,718
2. Karl-Anthony Towns – 5,701
Assists
1. Kevin Garnett – 4,216
2. Ricky Rubio – 3,424
Steals
1. Kevin Garnett – 1,315
2. Ricky Rubio – 845
Blocks
1. Kevin Garnett – 1,590
2. Karl-Anthony Towns – 680
Those numbers are just further proof that Garnett is unquestionably the greatest player in Timberwolves history. It is quite incredible that one individual can be at the top in all of them, and except for assists, it’s actually not even all that close, either.
In 14 seasons with the franchise, Garnett averaged 19.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. The list of his accolades during his time there is quite a long one, too.
MVP Award (2004), 10x All-Star (1997, 1998, 2000-2007), All-Star Game MVP (2003), 3x All-NBA First Team (2000, 2003, 2004), 3x All-NBA Second Team (2001, 2002, 2005), 2x All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2007), 6x All-Defensive First Team (2000-2005), 2x All-Defensive Second Team (2006, 2007), 4x Rebounding Champion (2004-2007), All-Rookie Second Team (1996)
Who Can Potentially Pass Garnett?
While there is no one on the Timberwolves at present who’s going to match those accolades anytime soon, there is one who can, in a few years, be in a position to nab the top spot in some of those statistical categories.
That, of course, is Karl-Anthony Towns, who is second in points, rebounds, and blocks. Towns has solid career averages of 23.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game in his eight seasons in Minnesota. If he stays with the Timberwolves for the bulk of his remaining career, I can see him overtaking Garnett for points and rebounds, but blocks might still be beyond his reach.
There are some things working against Towns in that quest, though. The first is health, as he has only played 188 games in the last four seasons. Towns is hoping to stay healthy and lead the Timberwolves to a winning season, but it remains to be seen if the injury bug stays away.
The other issue is that he might not be with the Timberwolves in a couple of years. Trade rumors regarding Towns have been floating around for a while now, and if this season ends in disappointment, Minnesota might ship him out of town.
The other candidate after Towns would be Anthony Edwards. If Edwards ends up staying with the Timberwolves for much of his career, then I have absolutely no doubt he’d be the all-time leader in points.
He could potentially pass Garnett in assists and steals as well, as Edwards just finished averaging 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the 2022-23 campaign. He has only played three seasons in the NBA, though, so it will be a very long time before Edwards gets close to accomplishing any of that.
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