The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (the NBA).  The Minnesota Timberwolves play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Portland Trailblazers.  Timberwolves tickets will surely be hard to come by during the 2010-2011 NBA schedule.

Timberwolves 2009-2010 Outlook

The Minnesota Timberwolves finished the 2009-2010 with the 2nd worst record (15-67) in the entire NBA.  The New Jersey Nets were the only team to win less games than the Timberwolves with 12 wins.  Al Jefferson led the team with a 17.1 points per game average and he also grabbed 9.3 rebounds per game.  Kevin Love is turning into the power forward that they hoped we would be as he scored 14.0 points per game and grabbed 11.0 rebounds per game.  Jonny Flynn also emerged as a legitimate starting point guard as he averaged 13.5 points per game with 4.4 assist per game.  The Timberwolves will have to deal with the departure of Jefferson, but Love is only going to get better as he gets more experience and plays more consistently on a nightly basis. 

The Timberwolves got deeper through trades and signings during the off-season.  Love will still be the go-to guy in the offense, but the Timberwolves hope that a change of scenery for small forward Michael Beasley will be a good thing for the 3rd year player.  Beaslye averaged 14.8 points per game and grabbed 6.4 rebounds for the Miami Heat in 2009-2010.  Darko Milicic will anchor the middle of floor and hopes to build on his 4.7 rebounds per game average a season ago.  Newcomer Luke Ridnour will man the point for the Timberwolves, while Wayne Ellington and newcomer Corey Brewer will look to score from the outside at the shooting guard position.  The Timberwolves should be a lot better during the upcoming NBA season, so get your Timberwolves NBA tickets at the Target Center before it's too late.

History

The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the ranks of the NBA in 1989 as an expansion team as part of a 4-team, 2-tier expansion.  Along with the Orlando Magic, the Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA for the 1989-1990 season, while the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets joined the NBA for the 1988-1989 season.  As with most expansion teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves struggled during its early existence.  During its first 7 years in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves never won more than 29 games and never advanced to post-season play.  The tides began to turn in favor of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995, when the franchise selected Kevin Garnett with its first pick in the 1995 NBA draft.  Garnett and Tom Gugliotta helped the Minnesota Timberwolves reach the playoffs for the 1st time in franchise history following the 1996-1997 season.  The Minnesota Timberwolves then recorded its first ever winning record in 1997-1998 with a 45-37 record.  From 1996 through 2004, the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to playoffs each and every year, but for the 1st 7 of those playoff appearances, the Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated in the 1st round.  Following the 2003-2004 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings to advance to the franchise’s first ever Western Conference Finals.  But the dream of a trip to the NBA Championship Series ended with a heart-breaking 6-game series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.  The team has not advanced to the playoffs since that finals loss.  During the summer of 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for draft picks and numerous players, signaling the turn towards a youth movement.    

The Minnesota Timberwolves have retired the following player’s numbers: Malik Sealy’s #2.  It is widely assumed that the Minnesota Timberwolves will retire Kevin Garnett’s jersey once he retires from the NBA.  

Timberwolves TV/Radio

All Minnesota Timberwolves basketball games can be seen on either the Fox Sports Net North Television Network or KSTC Channel 45 in the greater Minneapolis / St. Paul region.  NBC, ESPN and TNT may also televise Minnesota Timberwolves games based on the popularity of the game.  Tune into the Timberwolves Radio Network KFAN 1130 on your AM dial to catch each Minnesota Timberwolves basketball game on the radio.

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their home games at the Target Center.  The Target Center opened in 1990 and the Minnesota Timberwolves have played their ever since.  Target, the largest Minneapolis-based business purchased the naming rights to the arena during the construction process.  In addition to hosting Minnesota Timberwolves NBA home games, the Target Center also hosts all of the home professional basketball games for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball Association.  The Target Center has a seating capacity of 20,500 devoted die-hard Minnesota Timberwolves fans.  The Target Center is one of only 3 NBA teams to boast a “parquet” floor – the other 2 being the Boston Celtics’ TD Banknorth Garden and the Orlando Magic’s Amway Arena.  The Target Center has hosted numerous memorable events and concerts during its short existence including the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, and the 2005 Women’s NCAA Basketball Final Four. 

Stadium:            Target Center
                            600 First Avenue North
                            Minneapolis, MN 55403

www.nba.com/timberwolves 
www.targetcenter.com

2007-2008 Timberwolves
2009-2010 Timberwolves