Da Kid shall lead them: he's versatile. He's athletic. He's unselfish. And he's not going anywhere. Kevin Garnett has a tight grip on the top spot in our ranking of the. NBA's 50 best players.(NBA)(National Basketball Association)

Speaking with reporters last week, Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders raised a scary notion. Remember the Kevin Garnett you saw last season, the one who averaged 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists, earning himself the MVP award? Well, if Saunders is right, Garnett is going to be better this year. Garnett spent the summer working on his ability to put the ball on the floor, a tough thing for a 6-11 guy to do. But Saunders says that, with NBA refs vowing to whistle defenders for contact during dribble-drives, Garnett should be able to sucker opponents into giving him free trips to the foul line.

"That's something he wanted to improve upon," Saunders says. ...