OPINION: Kobe's Death Shows Why Garnett, Wolves Must Reconcile

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett, the best and most admired Minnesota Timberwolves player of all time, retried from professional basketball Jan. 23, 2016. And yet, his famous jersey number, "21," hasn't been retired, and his achievements for the Wolves have not been formally celebrated.

A party for Garnett, a 15-time NBA all-star, is long overdue.

The delay has been so long that Minnesota athletes who retired after Garnett have already had their day in the sun. During a ceremony in June 2019 at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins retired Joe Mauer's No. 7 jersey, mere months after he retired.

The Minnesota Lynx retired Lindsay Whalen's number in 2019, following her final season with the team.

It's time the Timberwolves do the same for Garnett, a likely future Hall of Famer.

Why hasn't it happened yet? Garnett is easily one of the most beloved athletes in the history of Minnesota sports. But simply put, Garnett and the current owner of the Timberwolves, Glen Taylor, don't get along.

Garnett has been publicly critical of how Taylor has run the organization. A particular sore spot was the 2016 firing of former Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell, an ex-teammate and close friend of Garnett.

"Obviously, me and Glen don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and that’s how it’s going to be," he told The Associated Press in 2017.

Despite ongoing disagreements, it's time both parties put grudges aside. Minnesota fans deserve a chance to celebrate Garnett and the success he brought to the team — especially right now, when the Wolves are a woeful 15-32 on the season.

The sudden and tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, as well his daughter, and seven other passengers in the helicopter that crashed Sunday, is an important reminder of how quickly life can be taken away from us. This is a lesson the Timberwolves learned in 2000, when Minnesota shooting guard Malik Sealy was killed by a drunken driver in St. Louis Park at the age of 30.

These tragedies remind us how little our grudges matter in the grand scheme of life, and that there's no time like to present to make amends.

On Dec. 18, 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers made Bryant the only player in NBA history to have two numbers — No. 8 and No. 24 — retired by the same team. It's a day that Lakers fans can look back on fondly, even in the wake of Bryant's heartbreaking death.

It's time that the Timberwolves and Garnett workout their differences so that they can give loyal Minnesota fans a day of their own to remember.

William Bornhoft is a field editor for Minnesota Patch and longtime Timberwolves fan