MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Finch had just been hired as Minnesota Timberwolves coach in February 2021 and was getting ready for his introductory news conference. A team employee gave him a Wolves shirt to hold for the traditional photo opportunity.

“Somebody snatched it out of my hands at the last moment,” Finch recalled.

Apparently, the shirt featured his last name and No. 21 on it.

Major faux pas. That number belongs solely to the Big Ticket.

“Right then and there,” Finch said, “I learned where I stood relative to Kevin Garnett.”

Finch got a different glimpse of KG’s popularity Sunday night in a long-awaited homecoming. Back in the building for the first time since 2018, Garnett caused Target Center to tremble from noise as he emerged from a tunnel right before tipoff of the regular-season finale.

Garnett walked slowly onto the court where he built a Hall of Fame career. He repeatedly tapped his heart as fans showered him with a standing ovation. The game had to be delayed momentarily after Garnett and Anthony Edwards — past and present faces of the franchise — met along the baseline for a hug.

Based on the lineup the Wolves put on the court in a meaningless 132-126 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, Garnett, who turns 50 next month, could have thrown his No. 21 on again and recorded a triple-double for old time’s sake.

He looks as if he can still play with that sinewy body that stretches forever with those beanstalk legs and arms. Only a splash of gray in his goatee reminds that he is no longer the younger version who had an endless supply of energy.

The reasons behind Garnett’s messy separation from the organization doesn’t need to be rehashed. His rift with former owner Glen Taylor (owner of the Minnesota Star Tribune) is over with new leadership in charge, and now everyone can move forward without any awkwardness between an organization and the greatest player to wear the uniform.

Garnett’s official title with the team is ambassador. Even if that role is largely ceremonial, he is part of the family again and that’s all that matters, especially to fans.

Garnett forged a deep emotional connection with the fan base that few professional athletes get to experience. He had sublime skills and talent packaged in a post’s body, but what Garnett represented and how he expressed it served as a bonding agent with ticket buyers. He brought hope to a beleaguered organization, transforming a dysfunctional outfit into a winner.

“He didn’t treat Minnesota like a steppingstone,” Jeff Munneke said. “He made us relevant from an NBA standpoint.”

Munneke is the longest-tenured Wolves employee. He has been on staff since Day 1, now serving as vice president of fan experience. He communicates with fans daily and has heard pleas for Garnett’s return “a lot.”

Munneke knows more and has seen more of Timberwolves history than any person. He traces Garnett’s popularity to the very beginning stages when former General Manager Kevin McHale created smoke screens inside NBA circles to draft Garnett straight out of high school with the fifth pick in 1995.

“I think Kevin worked every angle he could to convince everybody that we were going to draft Rasheed Wallace just so KG could fall to No. 5,” Munneke said.

Garnett’s preps-to-pro leap brought mystery and intrigue. His personality quickly won over fans. His intensity could burn a hole in your soul. And that blowtorch had no off switch.

Two things will endear any athlete to Minnesota fans, and that’s loyalty and effort. Garnett never cheated fans in either area.

“Our fans really value hard work and intensity and that enthusiasm,” Munneke said.

He arrived as a teenager and departed as a surefire Hall of Famer. His 14 seasons in uniform generated eight playoff appearances, one MVP award and renewed evidence that the Twin Cities is a basketball market.

His quirky superstitions became part of the Big Ticket experience. The rubber bands on his wrist. The finger sleeve on his shooting hand. His pregame routine of head-butting the stanchion and tossing rosin in the air at the scorer’s table.

“Our fans just gobbled it up,” Munneke said. “I think he made that person sitting in Section 227, Row W, feel like, ‘All right, I’m with you. He just pointed at me.’”

Eight years was a long absence. It’s likely unrealistic to believe that Garnett will maintain a regular presence at Target Center, but at least the door is open. The next big event will take place next season when the team retires his jersey.

“That legacy leaves on,” Munneke said. “He represents the heart and identity of Timberwolves basketball. Our fans will always love him.”

That love was palpable in his homecoming. No. 21 jerseys were everywhere in the arena, and the energy in the crowd felt like a big event.

Garnett’s booming voice could be heard echoing in the hallway near the home locker room an hour before tipoff. He stopped briefly after entering the arena to gaze at a mural. A giant photo of his face covered a wall with the words, “Welcome home, KG.”

He stood there for several seconds, examining it. He smiled that big smile, then moved on to catch up with old acquaintances who waited a long time for this moment.

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