On the morning of Monday, March 2, Gretchen Klinkner, an Athletic Training Major at UMD, anxiously waited between her first two classes of the day. 8:58 … 8:59 … 9 a.m.
Klinkner clicked the register button the second her brain registered the time. She had just successfully registered for the only tickets that Kevin Garnett had publicly given away — and they may be the last.
The Timberwolves drafted Garnett out of high school over 20 years ago, before the NBA mandated that all players participate in at least one year of college. The gamble paid off, as Garnett spent 12 years in the organization earning the most points, blocks, steals, rebounds and assists in franchise history.
In 2007, Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics for an array of players and a first-round pick. One championship, two franchises and a removed no-trade clause later, Garnett was traded back to the Minnesota Timberwolves just under a month ago on Feb. 20 in exchange for power forward Thaddeus Young.
The festivities, celebrations and commemorations of Garnett’s career began. Every night, he received standing ovations from the scores of fans who wanted to honor the return of a Minnesota basketball legend. To say thank you, Garnett gave 1,000 tickets away to the first 500 fans that registered online to see the Wolves run up against the Clippers on March 2. The team reported his offer in a statement the weekend before the game where he spoke to fans directly.
“Love you all, and thanks for the love. Enjoy the game on me.”
Klinkner, a Timberwolves fan since she was 10 years old, was all over it.
“The day before registration, a notification popped up in my ESPN App on my phone. I saw the update and I knew I had to try to get my hands on them,” Klinkner said
On top of being a lifelong fan, Klinkner is tailoring a career to help players. She works with the Bulldog men’s basketball team at UMD, where she assists medical providers in rehab sessions.
But above all, it was her affinity for Garnett and the opportunity to see him again that made her so excited about getting the tickets.
“I have always been a big fan of KG because he’s one of those players that you can just tell that he’s a good person, on top of being a good player,” Klinkner said. “He’s active in his community and he doesn’t just play because he wants to be famous. He seems to be one of the good guys.”
The Timberwolves ending up losing that night by five points in a contest that featured several technical fouls and an ejection, but Klinkner won’t be forgetting this experience anytime soon.
“I had a really good time,” Klinkner said. “It’s definitely something that I will always remember, how many times could you say that KG bought you tickets to a game?”
BY WILLIAM E. CASSERLY
Statesman Correspondent