MINNEAPOLIS – The Kid can be called “MVP,” too.

Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves won his first Most Valuable Player award Monday, easily beating two-time winner Tim Duncan and Jermaine O’Neal.

Garnett received 120 of 123 possible first-place votes in balloting by the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association for a total of 1,219 points. San Antonio’s Duncan got 716 votes, while Indiana’s O’Neal had 523.

The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing sources, that Garnett would win the honor.

Garnett led Minnesota to a 58-24 record and the top playoff seed in the Western Conference, averaging 24.2 points and a league-leading 13.9 rebounds.

“The teammates that I have, they made things so simple and they made things to easy at times,” Garnett said after receiving the trophy.

Garnett was an overwhelming choice for his first MVP honor.

He joined Larry Bird as the only players to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for five consecutive years.

Garnett credited team vice president Kevin McHale, who played with Bird for the Boston Celtics.

“This is best situation I could ever think of, or dream of,” Garnett said. “I had to believe I could get there, because of him and his belief in me.”

Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said Monday Garnett has wanted to win the award since the team drafted him out of high school in 1995.

“When he came in the league nine years ago the No. 1 thing he said to myself and [team vice president] Kevin McHale is he wanted to be the best player in the league,” Saunders said.

The success of players such as Garnett, nicknamed “The Kid,” and Kobe Bryant helped usher in a generation of preps-to-pros players who skipped college.

McHale said he told the skinny kid fresh from Chicago’s Farragut Academy to work hard and see what happens.

“That young man turned into a bigger man and a hell of a basketball player,” McHale said. “He reminds me of how basketball should be played, with passion, hard work and discipline.”

Garnett, in turn, gave some of the credit for his own success to McHale, whose career with the Boston Celtics earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame.

“This is best situation I could ever think of, or dream of,” Garnett said. “I had to believe I could get there, because of him and his belief in me.”

The Timberwolves host the Sacramento Kings in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.

Minnesota beat the Denver Nuggets in five games to end a league-record streak of seven straight first-round exits.

– Associated Press