- 1989
- 1990
- 1994
- 2008
- 2014
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Minnesota Timberwolves Team Formation
NBA basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1989 for the first time since the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles in 1960. The NBA had granted one of its four new expansion teams on April 22, 1987 (the others being the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, and the Miami Heat) to original owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner to begin ... -
Target Center Opens
The Timberwolves originally built and owned the Target Center arena in 1990 and the venue was managed by Ogden Entertainment. The City of Minneapolis purchased the arena in 1995. In 2004, Target Center underwent a major renovation that saw the replacement of all 19,006 of its original seats plus the addition of nearly 1,500 new seats as well as the ... -
Glen Taylor Ownership
Glen Taylor purchased majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team in 1994. Taylor purchased the Minnesota Lynx WNBA basketball team in 1999. Taylor was in talks to buy the Minnesota Twins but nothing has come of it. In 2005, he was also rumored to be a possible buyer for the Minnesota Vikings but was outbid by Zygi Wilf. He ... -
Trade for Kevin Love
In a press conference on April 17, 2008, Love announced his intention to leave UCLA to enter the 2008 NBA draft. He was taken fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, immediately after his teammate at UCLA, Russell Westbrook, who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics. Following the draft, Love was traded, along with Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins ... -
Wiggins for Love
On August 23, 2014, the Timberwolves traded Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade. The Timberwolves received Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett from Cleveland, and Thaddeus Young from the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Philadelphia 76ers received Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved from Minnesota and a 2015 first-round draft pick from Cleveland.
History of the Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member club of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 1989, the team is owned by Glen Taylor. The Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990.
Like most expansion teams, the Timberwolves struggled in their early years, but after the acquisition of Kevin Garnett in the 1995 NBA draft, the team qualified for the playoffs eight consecutive times from 1997 to 2004. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, the Timberwolves won their first division title in 2004 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for that season. The team has been in rebuilding mode for the past decade since missing the playoffs in 2005, and trading Garnett to the Boston Celtics in 2007. Garnett returned to the Timberwolves in a February 2015 trade and finished his career there, retiring in the 2016 offseason.
Established
1989
City
Minneapolis
League History
1989 - Present / National Basketball Association
Team History
1989 – Present / Minnesota Timberwolves
Nickname
Timberwolves – The franchise conducted a “name the team” contest and eventually selected two finalists, “Timberwolves” and “Polars”, in December 1986. The team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner and “Timberwolves” prevailed by nearly 2 to 1. Tim Pope, who was one of the first fans to nominate Timberwolves, won a trip to the NBA All-Star Game. Pope submitted 10 nicknames in all, including Gun Flints. "I thought a two-word name would win," he told a reporter. The most popular entry in the contest was Blizzard, but the team wanted a nickname that was more unique to its home state. "Minnesota is the only state in the lower 48 with free-roaming packs of timber wolves," a team official said. The team was officially named the “Minnesota Timberwolves” on January 23, 1987.
Championship
NBA Championships 0
Arena
1990 – Present / Target Center
1989 – 1990 / Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Owner
1994 – Present / Glen Taylor
1989 – 1994 / Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
2 / Malik Sealy
*Blue is this team’s history