Minnesota Timberwolves Midseason Awards

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Jan 19, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett reacts from the bench during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Timberwolves 114-99. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Big Ticket Award: Kevin Garnett

KG does not deserve any of the awards given out so far, but he has to be recognized in some capacity for what he’s brought to this team. So, I made up an award that is named after him, and he’ll be the first recipient of said award.

I don’t think I can overstate how important Kevin Garnett is to this basketball team. It is true that he only puts up minuscule numbers, at least compared to KG in his prime. It’s the other things that KG brings to the table that warrants some acknowledgment.

In terms of on the floor, he is still a terrific defender, in fact he is tied for the best defensive rating on the team at 102. It’s just so interesting to see how the Wolves defense changes when KG doesn’t play, which is normally in the second game of back-to-backs. It’s always evident when KG is not playing, especially on defense. Even at 39 years old he breathes life into this team on defense, which is remarkable.

More importantly however, is KG’s mentor-ship of the young players, most notably Karl-Anthony Towns. We’ve seen on multiple occasions KG almost coaching these young guys during timeout’s. Here are just a few examples:

And there have been a multitude of other occasions where KG has basically taken over huddles, or pulled guys aside to give them some sort of instruction. I think as fans, we take that for granted, and I don’t think we truly realize the impact that Garnett is having on these young players right now.

Next: Wolves Report: The Halfway Point

This is just KG being KG, and that needs to be recognized, and celebrated because what he’s doing now is going to help this team down the road.

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