Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves brought professional basketball back to the Twin Cities after a 29-year gap following the Minneapolis Lakers' move to Los Angeles. The franchise joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1989, and the name was chosen through a public contest in 1986, beating out the alternative 'Polars' after Minnesota's 842 city councils voted two-to-one in favor. The name honors the state's largest wolf population in the U.S. and the International Wolf Center in Ely. The original logo was also selected via contest, with over 2,600 entries; the winning design by Mark Thompson of Austin was described as 'aggressive, but not sinister' by original team president Bob Stein.

The team played its first season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before moving to Target Center in 1990, where they've remained ever since. The arena holds 19,356 fans. In 2025, longtime owner Glen Taylor completed the sale of the team to former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and his business partner Marc Lore, a deal that began in 2021. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale in June 2025, with Rodriguez, Lore, and a consortium purchasing the franchise for $1.5 billion.[düzenle]

The Timberwolves returned professional basketball to the Twin Cities for the first time since the Minneapolis Lakers left for Los Angeles in 1960. Two earlier ABA franchises, the Minnesota Muskies and Minnesota Pipers, had played in the interim. The team played its inaugural 1989-90 season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before moving to Target Center.

Like most expansion teams, the Timberwolves struggled early, posting the lowest winning percentage among active NBA teams. After drafting Kevin Garnett fifth overall in 1995, the team made eight straight playoff appearances from 1997 to 2004. They lost in the first round their first seven times but won their first division title in 2004 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers. Garnett was named NBA MVP that season.

Following the 2004 postseason, the team missed the playoffs for over a decade. Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007, winning a championship in 2008. He returned to Minnesota in February 2015 and retired in 2016. The Timberwolves ended their playoff drought in 2018 under Tom Thibodeau, but early exits followed.

A renaissance began in the 2020s with the selection of Anthony Edwards first overall in 2020 and the hiring of head coach Chris Finch in 2021. The team has made four straight playoff appearances, including consecutive Western Conference Finals runs in 2024 and 2025. Key additions like Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle have bolstered the roster, and the franchise has become a perennial contender.[düzenle]