The Minnesota Timberwolves have locked in a date for one of the most anticipated moments in franchise history: Kevin Garnett’s No. 21 will be retired on Feb. 28, 2027, after a game against the Boston Celtics at Target Center.
The team made the announcement itself, setting up a night that will honor Garnett in front of the home crowd and against another one of his former teams. Minnesota said the jersey retirement will follow the contest on NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball.
“The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that franchise legend and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett’s iconic No. 21 jersey will be retired on Feb. 28, 2027, following the team’s game against the Boston Celtics on NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball at Target Center,” the team wrote in its statement.
The move adds another milestone to the growing connection between Garnett and the organization. He returned to the Timberwolves as an ambassador in December of 2025, and this ceremony will deepen that renewed relationship. Garnett will become just the second player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining Malik Sealy, whose honor came after his sudden passing in 2000.
Minnesota also said the lead-up to the Celtics game will include special themed nights built around Garnett, who the franchise selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.
Garnett framed the jersey retirement as something bigger than a final bow. In the team’s announcement, he called it a “new beginning,” not an ending.
“Minnesota is home. That’s never changed.
This is where it all started for me, so seeing No. 21 go up in Target Center and sharing that moment with the fans, my family, teammates, coaches, and everyone who’s been part of this journey means everything,” Garnett said. “Retiring the jersey is just the start of the next chapter in Minnesota, about building something that lives beyond the game.
I’m excited to bring art, culture, and creativity back to this city in a real way - not just one night, but year-round.”
For Timberwolves fans, the wait now has a date. The next time Garnett’s number is raised to the rafters, it will be one of the defining nights the franchise has been building toward.
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