The lightning rod who became a legend

For fans of a certain age, the last hurrahs of generational sports icons are inevitably tinged with melancholy - like a whispered reminder of our own mortality.

We saw it in 1999 with Wayne Gretzky, followed a few years later by Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux. Over the past month we watched as Li Na and Derek Jeter drew the curtain on careers that will be trumpeted for decades.

Now it's Kevin Garnett's turn.