The Vikings have long dominated the North Star State’s sports landscape, but now the Timberwolves are emerging as a power player.
Minnesota welcomed its newest NBA team in 1989, filling the void in 1960 when the Minneapolis Lakers jumped ship to sunny (but lakeless) L.A. in 1960. But the new franchise faced the challenge of living up to a Laker franchise (North Country style) that had won five championships in twelve years.
The Timberwolves struggled, failing to post a winning record until the end of their ninth season. Over eight grueling years, they lost 464 games and won only 192—a sharp fall from the glory years of George Mikan and Slater Martin (RIP both).
But that didn’t last. When fortunes finally turned, the club made the playoffs eight times. Cause of that result? Two letters sum up. KG.
The great KD (photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports)
In his second year in the NBA, Kevin Garnett immediately started making waves: 17 PPG (Points Per Game), a trip to the postseason, and an All-Star nod at just 20 years old. Over the next seven seasons, KG delivered even greater results. He averaged 21.9 PPG in those playoff seasons, hit a career-high 24.2, and won the 2003-04 MVP award.
Unfortunately, the T-Wolves exited in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs every season except for KG’s MVP run, when they reached the Western Conference Finals. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated them in six games. The pain stretched on for another 18 seasons.
Fast forward to the 2021-22 season. KG has long since retired, and Minnesota now relies on another franchise big man: Karl-Anthony Towns. Drafted with the first pick of the 2015 NBA Draft out of Kentucky, Towns has had individual success but has disappointed the team so far. He claimed Rookie of the Year and posted multiple 20-plus PPG seasons, but the team squandered those efforts.
Now, back on track, Minnesota has also added a very exciting guard in Anthony Edwards, drafted with the first pick five years after KAT. A second-place finish in Rookie of the Year and 19.3 PPG fresh out of college raised the stakes for the team to put it together and finally succeed. This dynamic duo added hope and excitement to the cold up north.
Rudy Gobert (photo, The Sporting News)
The T-Wolves built a big-man tandem the next season by trading for Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz. Gobert averaged 13.4 PPG at the five spot while KAT missed most of the season with a calf injury. Despite another stellar season from Anthony Edwards, including his first All-Star nod (24.3 PPG at age 21 will definitely get you there), the 2022-23 season ended early in the first round, this time at the hands of Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets.
But after that season, the T-Wolves were officially on the come-up: two straight Western Conference Finals appearances, a relentless improvement from Anthony Edwards, the addition of Julius Randle, and the subtraction of Karl-Anthony Towns.
In the 2023-24 season, the T-Wolves looked phenomenal, finishing 56-26—the second-best record in team history, trailing only their last Western Conference Finals team 20 years prior with MVP-form KG. Gobert, Edwards, and Towns averaged 20.6 PPG combined and earned accolades along the way. Rudy Gobert won Defensive Player of the Year while scoring 14 PPG and shooting an extraordinarily efficient 66.1% from the field; KAT earned his fourth All-Star nod, and Anthony Edwards placed seventh in MVP voting alongside his second All-Star nod and an All-NBA 2nd Team nomination.
Minnesota topped the field, cruised through the first round and fought through a tough second round vs. the Nuggets, escaping in seven games. Although it all came crashing down in the Western Conference Finals, the T-Wolves were thrashed in five games by the Dallas Mavericks, who were en route to the NBA Finals, only to be thrashed by the Boston Celtics.
Rudy Gobert (photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
This Minnesota team had the talent to make it. Unfortunately, the big three fell apart too soon. The very next season, the T-Wolves dealt KAT to the New York Knicks and Julius Randle replaced him. Randle broke out in New York, averaging 22.6 PPG over his five seasons. He made three All-Star teams, finished eighth in MVP voting, earned a 2nd-team All-NBA selection, and won Most Improved Player. In short, Randle was no slouch when he came to Minnesota.
The fanbase and the team felt the loss of the best Minnesota player of the 2010s. But that feeling faded soon after, as the team earned yet another Western Conference Finals berth. Randle’s PPG dropped by 5.3, from 24 to 18.7, but he still signed a three-year, $100 million extension on July 15th, 2025, after the season ended. A scoring drop-off is bound to happen when co-starring with a scoring machine like Anthony Edwards.
Speaking of Edwards, he somehow upped his scoring even more to 27.6 PPG. Alas, the Timberwolves fell to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.
The main core remained the same in the 2025-26 season. But Jaden McDaniels’ scoring breakout, jumping from 12 PPG to 14.8, helped diversify the T-Wolves offense. McDaniels also held it down defensively; he’s earned one All-Defensive 2nd Team selection in his career, and he’ll only get better. Minnesota finished 49-33 and went into the offseason looking to get over the hump finally.
Jaden McDaniels (photo courtesy of Dunking with Wolves)
After a rivalry-intensifying matchup with the Nuggets, made even more entertaining by McDaniels publicly stating that all of Denver’s players are poor defenders, Minnesota prevailed in six games. It looked like an upset of the powerhouse San Antonio Spurs led by Victor Wembanyama. Unfortunately, the T-Wolves were handled in six games, and another season ended just a bit short.
Anthony Edwards pushed his scoring to new heights again, averaging 28.8 PPG, and earned his fourth All-Star nod. Gobert stayed steady defensively and put up a respectable playoff performance. Julius Randle really stood out: 21.2 PPG on 48.1% shooting in the regular season. Come playoff time? 16 PPG on 39% shooting.
Factor in that three of the four losses to the Spurs came with poor Randle performances. Game three: 3-for-12 from the field, 12 total points, six from free throws. Game five: 6-for-17 from the field, 17 total points, five from free throws. Game six: 1-for-8, three total points, one from a free throw. In an elimination game. As a second scoring option behind Anthony Edwards. While on the extension mentioned earlier, worth $100 million.
The T-Wolves traded Randle to the Brooklyn Nets less than two months after the season ended. That same four-team deal also included LaMelo Ball, who went to Minnesota in exchange for Naz Reid, Matteo Spagnolo, four first-round picks, and three second-round picks. Before this trade, Minnesota also brought in role player Jonathan Kuminga in hopes of getting a good scoring option to back up Ball and Edwards.
Edwards on fire! (photo courtesy of Zone Coverage)
Finally, we end back at the present day. The T-Wolves handily defeated the Miami Heat this week, and everyone performed well. Kuminga hounded Miami on defense, adding 12 points and four steals. McDaniels played well on both ends, adding 17 points and three steals.
Gobert did what he did best, and the team kept the ball in their very talented hands with his 15 boards. Ball and Edwards scored well, for 66 combined points (Ball – 21, Edwards – 45). Minnesota also got the three-point shot in, which makes sense with LaMelo Ball bringing his playmaking and letting Anthony Edwards move more off-ball. Ball hit five threes, and Edwards hit nine. Ayo Dosunmu also provided the spark fans hoped for off the bench, with 16 points.
So to end this off, will the T-Wolves FINALLY get over the hump and bring Larry O’Brien back to the North Star State?
I sure hope so, and it looks like that hope may not be such a stretch.
