One of the best NBA duos of the 1990s, recently reunited in China

The Minnesota Timberwolves were once supposed to have one of the NBA duos in Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett.

In 1995, the Wolves selected Kevin Garnett in the lottery out of high school. The following year, they chose Marbury after his freshman season at Georgia Tech.

The Timberwolves have two young cornerstones that make them a playoff contender. That never happened because Marbury was unhappy with his life in Minnesota. Despite two playoff appearances, they only played together for two and a half seasons before Marbury moved to the New Jersey Nets.

“We’ve talked about playing together,” Marbury said during an appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s “7 PM In Brooklyn” podcast a few months ago. “We talked about winning championships. When I went to Minnesota, I was just so happy to go there and play with him and play basketball with someone I talked to and I said I want to play with you and build.”

A recent Instagram post shows that Garnett and Marbury are still best friends. Garnett visited China to show his support for Marbury, who was taking part in a friendly match. After his NBA career ended, Marbury became a legend in China.

Garnett’s career went better after he won the MVP title with the Wolves in 2003. He later won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Still, one has to wonder how the duo would have fared had they stayed in Minnesota.

Shandel Richardson is the editor of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]

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