Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 30 Scorers in Franchise History

#10 – Sam Cassell

The Timberwolves acquired Cassell along with center Ervin Johnson in a swap with the Milwaukee Bucks in June of 2003 that saw long-time Timberwolf Anthony Peeler and Joe Smith head to Wisconsin.

Cassell’s acquisition came during the same summer that Latrell Sprewell was added to the fold, and the Wolves eventually advanced to the Western Conference Finals the following spring. Cassell had a career year, averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.

It was remarkable, considering it was his age-34 season. And sure enough, his body broke down in the playoffs after averaging 35 minutes per game over 81 regular season contests. He only played in 59 games the following season and the Wolves sold low on him the following summer, shipping him to the Los Angeles Clippers where he’d play out most of the rest of his career.

But that 2003-04 season was magical for Cassell. He made his only All-Star team and scored at will, despite shooting 66.1 percent of his shots from between 10 feet and the three-point arc — he truly was a mid-range assassin, apparently designed in a lab to run Flip Saunder’s complicated and mid-range-jumper-heavy offense.

While Cassell’s peak from 1996 through 2004 saw him average 18.8 points per game, there were enough spotty years from a scoring percentage on the fringes of his career to knock his lifetime scoring average down to just 15.7 points per game. Only playing two years in Minnesota knocked him down a bit as well, but he’s comfortably #10 on our list.

Next: #9 - Isaiah Rider