Humble Beginnings

Their first game was against the Seattle Supersonics in November 1989 which they lost 106-94. They played at their first home arena at Metrodome for the first time against the Chicago Bulls after five days, but lost to them as well. Finally, they had their first win at home when they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 125-118. The Timberwolves games pulled huge crowds in spite of them finishing their first season with a record of 22-60.

The team moved to the Target Center for their home games in the next season. They hired Jimmy Rodgers as their new head coach but had a disastrous season. Their situation did not improve over the next few years. They were almost relocated to New Orleans in 1994 which the NBA rejected. Finally, the team was taken over by Glen Taylor in 1995.

After the takeover by Taylor, the Minnesota Timberwolves started improving steadily. The team hired Flip Saunders as head coach. They also made new additions to the roster with Kevin Garnett, Spud Webb, Andrew Lang and Tom Gugliotta. In 1996, Gugliotta and Garnett were selected for the All-Star game, becoming the first Timberwolves to be chosen. The team reached the playoffs for the first time that season and continued to do so for the next eight years.

Tragedy struck the team when Guard Malik Sealy died in a car accident in 2000. The same year, the Timberwolves received a heavy fine for violating contract-signing regulations when they signed on Joe Smith, a free agent. He eventually signed on with the team in the next season.

In 2003, the Minnesota Timberwolves were on top of their division and won the Northwest Division title. Unfortunately, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett was awarded the Most Valuable Player for the first time. In July 2007, Garnett was eventually traded to the Boston Celtics for five players and two first round draft picks. This was the largest number of players and picks to be received after trading just one player in the history of the NBA.

The Timberwolves have retired only one jersey number so far. They have retired the number of Malik Sealy 2, who was tragically taken away from the team in 2000.

The Current Team

The current team is coached by Randy Wittman and owned by Glen Taylor. The team roster includes players like Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Theo Ratliff, all of whom were acquired by trading Garnett.