Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Their organization is a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Known as the Timberwolves, they made their debut on November 3, 1989 losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road 106-94. Five days later they would make their home debut at the Metrodome losing to the Chicago Bulls 96-84. Just two nights later the Wolves would get their first win, beating the Philadelphia 76ers at home 125-118 on November 10th.

The Timberwolves, led by Tony Campbell with 23.2 ppg, went on to a 22-60 record, finishing in 6th place in the Midwest Division. Professional basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1987, when the NBA granted one of its two new expansion teams (the other being Orlando) to original owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner to begin play for the 1989-90 season. Playing in the cavernous Metrodome, the expansion Timberwolves drew over 1 million fans including the 3rd-largest crowd in NBA history at 49,551 on April 17, 1990 that saw the Timberwolves lose to the Denver Nuggets 99-88 in the final home game of the season.

In 1995, the Timberwolves selected Kevin Garnett in the draft, and Flip Saunders became coach. Christian Laettner was traded along with Sean Rooks to the Atlanta Hawks for Andrew Lang and Spud Webb. In 1999, the Timberwolves drafted Wally Szczerbiak. He had a solid season finishing 3rd on the team in scoring with 11.6 ppg. Led by Kevin Garnett, who averaged 22.9 ppg and 11.8 rebounds per game, the Timberwolves enjoyed their first 50-win season finishing in 3rd place with a solid record of 50-32. However, in the playoffs the Wolves fell in the first round again, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in 4 games.

In the playoffs the Wolves were eliminated in the first round again by the San Antonio Spurs in 4 games in the spring of 2001. 2002-03 seemed to look up for the Wolves. Kevin Garnett had a great season, finishing second in MVP voting while averaging a solid 23.0 ppg and 13.4 rebounds per game as the Timberwolves finish in 3rd place with a 51-31 record. With home court advantage for the first time facing the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. After being blown out at home in Game 1 the Timberwolves had a chance to take a 3-1 series lead as they led heading into the 4th quarter of Game 4 in Los Angeles.In 2003, the Timberwolves made two strong offseason moves, trading away forward Joe Smith and injured guard Terrell Brandon in a multi-player deal for Ervin Johnson, Sam Cassell and embattled guard Latrell Sprewell.

During the 2003-04 NBA season, the Timberwolves became the team to beat in the Western Conference. They finished the season as the top seed in the Western Conference with a record of 58-24, and beat the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs before losing to the Lakers, the previous Minnesota franchise, in the Western Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett finally earned his first MVP award with 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

In the 2006 NBA draft, the Timberwolves selected future Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy with the 6th overall pick, Craig Smith with the 36th pick, Bobby Jones with the 37th pick and center Loukas Mavrokefalidis with the 57th pick. The Timberwolves traded Brandon Roy to the Portland Trail Blazers for Randy Foye and cash considerations. The Timberwolves then traded forward Bobby Jones to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2007 second-round pick and cash.

Minnesota began the NBA Preseason with two games in London and Istanbul, as part of NBA Europe Live 2007. On October 10, The Wolves lost to Kevin Garnett and the revamped Boston Celtics 92-81. To start the season, the Wolves began 0-5 before finally ending the drought with a home win over Sacramento.

The sport of basketball is loved by millions of people around the world. The cause of this popularity is the hard work and dedication of numerous professional basketball teams that put everything on the line in order to give the audience the chance to see a good match. One such team that does exactly that is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Founded in the year 1989, the team is based in the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota. The team had to endure a dark period during its starting years but found their feet a couple of years after they successfully signed Kevin Garnett, a player that went on to become the club's most prized asset, in the year 1995. They made the playoffs on eight consecutive occasions starting from 1997 and continuing on towards the year 2004. The Minnesota Timberwolves' first and only title came in the shape of the Division Title, one which they won back in 2004. Their star performer for that year was Kevin Garnett and as a result of his hard work, he was crowned as the Most Valuable Player by the NBA for that particular season. Currently, the team is undergoing a rebuilding phase but shows promise for the future with the likes of Kevin Love, the fifth Timberwolves player to be drafted in the NBA All Star. Get your Minnesota Timberwolves Tickets today and a get a chance to see this wonderful team perform live in front of your own eyes. Considering their talent and promise, they are the ones to look for in the future.