Minnesota Timberwolves: 15 greatest moments of Kevin Garnett’s career

7. Rookie Garnett shows off versatility

Garnett had an impressive rookie season for the Wolves, averaging 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while only playing 28.7 minutes per night and starting just 43 of the 80 games in which he appeared.

He improved as the season went on, and when the 14-36 Timberwolves played host to the mighty Houston Rockets in late February of 1996, not all that many folks were paying close attention.

But for Wolves fans who followed the team — and especially the 14,224 that were in attendance at Target Center that night — it was a game that won’t soon be forgotten.

Garnett, still just 19 years old, had recently joined the starting lineup and was beginning to show his impossible range of skills and tantalizing potential. There was one particular sequence from the game that became famous, however.

You saw that right. A nasty block at the rim, followed by an athletic rebound, and then capped off by a bee-line to the rim that finished with an explosive dunk.

That’s a 19-year-old sticking it to Hakeem Olajuwon (who put up 30 points and 10 rebounds in the loss) and the rest of the Rockets, who went on to win 48 games that year. The Wolves won this one, however — one of just 26 wins they were able to get that season.

This exact type of dynamic play is exactly what Garnett provided for his entire career, and it’s fascinating to watch it play out before our eyes in three separate acts that occurred all on the same play.