Kevin Garnett

In Minnesota Kevin Garnett is respected not because he is a first-team All-NBA player or because he makes more money than anybody else in basketball. K.G. is respected because he is still here. Stephon Marbury bailed on the Twin Cities for the Nets to be closer to his home in NYC (of course, he plays in Phoenix now, so there is some justice in this world), and he is not the only way to get out of town for greener pastures. But K.G. has committed to the team, the city and the fans, and that speaks big time in today's sports world. Arlene Bourgeois Molzahn tells the story of how Garnett made the jump from high school to the NBA, covering his career through his first five seasons, through the 1999-2000 season. That was the year K.G. was named first team All-NBA, made first team All-NBA defensive as well, and finished second in the MVP voting to Shaqueille O'Neal. However, she keeps the focus not only on his accomplishments but on the hard work he puts into getting the most out of his talents and the community work he does to give something back. There are plenty of basketball superstars who do not know how to play the game or how to be a decent human being, but K.G. is certainly not one of them, as young readers will discover in this excellent juvenile biography. This is why if you look at the other titles in the Sports Heroes series you only find the special people in sports, like Brett Favre, Derek Jeter, Miam Hamm, Sheryl Swoopes and Tiger Woods.