Earlier this week, reports began to surface that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett were in talks of a buyout, a contractual settlement that would effectively end his second stint with the team that drafted him fifth overall in the 1995 NBA Draft. This, of course, would likely retire the 21-year veteran, bringing to a close one of the most dominant individual careers in modern NBA history.
Garnett spent much of his professional life in Minnesota, yet it was his time in Boston alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that he obtained his one and only NBA championship in 2008. Immediately after, he fiercely bellowed “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE” for all the world to hear. That cry of optimism defines KG’s career; a Greenville, South Carolina native with big dreams and even bigger game – a game adorned by Nike. After nabbing Garnett at the start of his NBA career, they laced the 6-foot-11 power forward in generation defining footwear.
In today’s edition of Throwback Thursday we pay homage to a legend, and the Nike Basketball footwear that accompanied “Da Kid” through a Hall of Fame career.
The Early Years
Kevin Garnett was a prodigy. Most knew this right away when he gained respect from local hoops street legend Baron Franks, more commonly referred to as “Bear,” at the tender age of 14. He then marveled onlookers during his high school years at Mauldin in Springfield Park, a small city just outside of Greenville. Eventually, he’d transfer before his senior year to Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois. Nike took immediate interest in Garnett even before he finished high school.
He attended their All-American Basketball Festival in 1993, a gathering of the nation’s top 125 players in Indianapolis. But when KG entered the league in 1995, he quickly signed an endorsement deal with Nike and took flight in a slew of Nike Uptempo gems. KG also famously laced up the Air Way Up, Jumpman Pro and Air Jordan 11.
