Minnesota Timberwolves is a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association.
It is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Glen Taylor is the owner of the franchise. Their home arena is the Target Center where they play their home games.
History – 1989 to 1999
The Minnesota Timberwolves is a team part of the NBA expansion in 1989 along with three other teams such as Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat. The NBA granted the original owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner to debut in the 1990-91 NBA season. The franchise conducted a contest to name the team. They chose Timberwolves over the Polars in 1986. They were officially named the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 23, 1987.
On November 3, 1989, the Minnesota Timberwolves debut game was against the Seattle Supersonics. They lost 106-94 on the road. In their debut in their home arena at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, they lost against the Chicago Bulls. They achieved their first win against the Philadephia 76ers two days after. They were led by Tony Campbell in scoring with 23.2 points per game and finished the season with 22-60 record.
In their second season in the NBA, they transferred their home arena to the Target Center. They finished the season 29-53, 7 more games improved from the previous. Despite the improvement, they fired Bill Musselman as the headcoach. In 1991-92 season, led by coach Jimmy Rodgers, they had their worst record 15-67.
In the next two season, though they had the top picks Christian Laettner and Isaiah Rider, they still struggles finishing the seasons with 19-63 and 20-62 respectively. Still, in 1994-95 season, they finished poorly with 21-61 win-loss record.
In the 1995 NBA Draft, they acquired one of the top prospect in highschool, future superstar, Kevin Garnett. They hired Flip Saunders as their coach. They improved their previous standing to 26-56 record.
The next season, they got an all-star caliber player in their roster, Stephon Marbury. They ended the season 40-42, despite it is a losing record, they are still qualified in the postseason for the first time. As they faced the Houston Rockets in the first round, they lost 3 straight games.
For the 1997-98 NBA season, Marbury and Garnett had established themselves as the rising superstars of the league as they led the team in scoring and other categories. They had their first winning season , finishing 45-37 record. They lost in the postseason in the first round against Seattle Supersonics in 5 games.
In the year 1998, a year after Kevin Garnett signed a huge deal with the Wolves with 126 million dollar contract for 6 years. They sent Marbury in the 3 team deal to the New Jersey Nets and the Wolves got Terrell Brandon and a first round pick. They made it to the playoffs but beaten by the San Antonio Spurs in 4 games.