From Chris McCosky's blog:
Saunders talked a lot about Garnett after practice today. He called him the most versatile player ever to play the game, and it's hard to argue the point. Saunders told the story about giving Garnett his first NBA start. It, ironically, was in Boston late in KGs rookie year. "I played him almost the whole game," Saunders said. "I took him out late and as he walked by me he said, 'Thanks for playing me so much, coach.' Things have kind of changed since then."
More from Flip: "Here's the number one thing about KG. There is nobody in the game that respects the game as much as he does. When people respect the game like he does, I always say the basketball gods will shine upon you and good things will happen. If you respect the game, it will come back to you and it has come back to KG three-fold.
Funny story. It'd be even funnier if it were true. Garnett's first NBA start actually came on January 9, 1996 in Los Angeles -- the Lakers won that game 106-104, and KG played only 22 minutes. (The only time the Wolves played in Boston that year was on December 22, 1995, when KG played 19 minutes off the bench.)
It's not the first time Saunders has told a revisionist history in regards to KG, but whatever, I still agree with the second part, which was kind of the whole point of his comments. KG is one of the game's good guys and as fans we're better off with him being surrounded by talented teammates.