Long road back

Kevin Garnett came to the Timberwolves in 1995, directly from high school in 1995. He left a dozen years later after a trade to Boston, where he won an NBA title, followed by another trade to Brooklyn in 2013. On Thursday he returned to the Wolves in a deal for Thaddeus Young. A look at the future Hall of Famer's NBA career:

June 28, 1995: Selected by the Wolves in the first round (fifth player overall) of the NBA draft. Is the first player in 20 years to go directly from high school to the NBA.

Jan. 9, 1996: Makes the first start of his career. Has nine points and eight rebounds in the Timberwolves' 106-104 loss to the L.A. Lakers in Los Angeles.

May 16, 1996: Named to the NBA's All-Rookie second team after averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds.

April 10, 1997: Scores 19 points in the Timberwolves' 108-96 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles. The victory clinches the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Aug. 11, 1997: Turns down a six-year contract worth an estimated $103.5 million. Eric Fleisher, Garnett's agent, says Garnett will not play for the Timberwolves after the 1997-98 season.

Oct. 1, 1997: Signs a six-year contract worth an estimated $125 million. The contract is a record deal for a professional athlete in any team sport. The agreement is reached six hours before an NBA deadline would have ceased negotiations until the following July.

May 31, 2000: Is named to the All-NBA first team for the first time after averaging 22.9 points and 11.9 rebounds.

Sept. 30, 2000: Is a member of the U.S. Olympic team that defeats France 85-75 for the gold medal of the Sydney Olympics.

Feb. 9, 2003: Is named the MVP of the All-Star Game after his 37 points, nine rebounds and five steals lead the West to a 155-145 double-overtime victory over the East in Atlanta.

May 3, 2004: Named the NBA's MVP for the 2003-04 season after averaging 24.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game while leading the Timberwolves to a team-record 58 victories.

May 19, 2004: Has 32 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to an 83-80 victory over Sacramento. The victory advances the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals for the

first time, where they lose to the Lakers in six games. The Wolves have not been back to the playoffs since.

July 31, 2007: With the Wolves in a rebuilding mode, he is traded to the Celtics in what is considered the biggest package ever dealt for one player: Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Theo Ratliff as well as two first-round draft picks.

2008: In a storybook start with the Celtics, Garnett helps the franchise to its 17th NBA championship. He averaged 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds during the regular reason.

2009: Limited to 57 games because of a right knee strain.

2010: Helped the Celtics reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers in seven games. The Celtics lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals the next season, and Eastern finals in 2012 to LeBron James and Miami.

June 28, 2013: The Celtics sent Garnett and veterans Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to the Nets for future first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 plus Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and D.J. White. He averaged only 6.5 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Nets last season and was averaging 6.8 points and 6.8 rebounds this season.

Feb. 19, 2015: Traded to the Wolves for starting forward Thaddeus Young.

DENNIS BRACKIN