“You’re supposed to trade Rudy Gobert, keep KAT, and go on. You took a step back. You didn’t wanna pay the man? What are we doing?” Not just Kevin Garnett, but the entire world was thinking, why did the Wolves trade away Karl-Anthony Towns? Their relationship goes deeper when KG returns for his second spell with the Minnesota franchise; KAT was the number 1 overall draft pick that season. So the mentor-mentee relationship started nearly a decade ago and continues to be a strong bond.

The current Knicks star added a carousel post on Instagram about the All-Star weekend. “That was fun, back to work.” The first photo was alongside his teammate and franchise captain, Jalen Brunson. Other photographs captured the essence of the weekend and saw him with Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic, and his ASG experience. One such experience also included a meeting with Kevin Garnett.

The Big Ticket proudly re-shared the photo from the post on his story with the caption, “My guy 🫡💯🤝.” As stated earlier, KG’s second run with the Wolves coincided with KAT’s beginning with the franchise. Even though the 48-year-old was unhappy with the trade to the Knicks, he had high hopes for The Big Bodega.

“It’s big numbers, you hear me? He’s playing them in the fourth – whether they up 30 (points) or down 10, he running them through, you feel me?… I’m loving KAT’s presence. He playing like, ‘I’m MVP this year, man. Put me in here; you all got to talk to me. I’m the Big Bing-Bong.’ He’s a force.”

Anthony Towns is definitely proving to be a force to be reckoned with his 24.7 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. His points average is the highest compared to his last 4 years; meanwhile, in rebounding, he currently is 2nd in the league. The big man continues to play like a man who’s got something to prove.

That is why Kevin Garnett was and is a fan of the 2016 ROTY. But now the question may arise: how did KG manage to mentor the 29-year-old? We have got you covered.

Kevin Garnett and Karl-Anthony Towns’ first impression of each other

In his one-and-done season with Kentucky, KAT, alongside Suns’ guard Devin Booker, led their team to an 18-0 SEC record. They would also earn the number 1 AP ranking for March Madness and made it all the way to the Final Four. The season ended with an overall 38-1 record, and KAT was ready for the NBA life.

When Kevin Garnett met Towns, there were several things the latter could do. He had agility and could block and shoot well even from the three-point line. But The Big Ticket was a fan of another quality.

Garnett loved Towns’ motor, or as he calls it, ‘The Beast.’ “You can’t teach the beast. It’s either in you or it isn’t. You can’t just go to the store and buy a six-pack of beast. It don’t work like that.” KG told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan a few years ago.

For Karl-Anthony Towns, he only knew one thing, and that was to learn from the veteran. “Whatever KG tells me to do. I’m going to do it.” Now Garnett calls for an MVP season from the Knicks star, and the way he is performing, it could potentially happen sooner rather than later.