The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989 as an expansion team, which means that we have 27 seasons worth of players from which to choose an all-franchise starting five.
Over the Timberwolves’ 27 seasons of existence, the Wolves have not been known for having the best players in the league. In fact, there has only been a grand total of five players to be selected as All-Star teams — none prior to 1996. (Tom Gugliotta was first, followed by Kevin Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak, Sam Cassell, and Kevin Love.)
Minnesota also has only had one player to win the MVP in Kevin Garnett in 2004. He posted 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, and five assists per game.
Minnesota has also had two players win Rookie Of The Year in Andrew Wiggins in 2015 (16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game) and Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016 (18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game).
When it comes to Defensive Player and Sixth Man Of The Year, well, the Timberwolves have won exactly zero of those award.
The Timberwolves have also only made the playoffs eight times from 1996-2004, which was the last year in which they made postseason play. The furthest Minnesota has made it was also in 2004, when they lost to the Los Angles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
After setting this list up with some team history, let’s take a stroll through a list of the best players at each position in Timberwolves history.
Point Guard: Sam Cassell
Played for Minnesota from 2003-2005
With Sam Cassell only playing in Minnesota for two short seasons, it wasn’t easy to hand him the keys. Truthfully, I tossed and turned about whether or not to go with Stephon Marbury here, but ultimately went with Sam.
Well, the 2003-04 version of Sam Cassell, to be exact. That year, Sam posted 19.8 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. He also shot 48.8 percent from the field and 39.8 from deep as he helped lead Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals.
That season, Cassell posted seven games of 30 or more points while only having eight in which he didn’t he double digits over the course of the season. Additionally, he had 20 games of double-digit assist totals and only having five games with fewer than four assists. Cassell’s leadership and winning mentality is something that can’t be put into a stat line, either
Sam’s competition for this starting spot was Ricky Rubio and the aforementioned Marbury. Ricky is a great point guard, but Cassell’s ability to shoot gave him the nod over Ricky.
Cassell versus Marbury isn’t as clear-cut, however. Both players bring scoring and playmaking to the team, but playmaking is ultimately the thing that sets them apart as Marbury always looked to be the go-to guy while Sam was fine with differing to someone else.
It is clear that Minnesota would have made the NBA Finals had Sam not been hit with the injury bug heading into the final round in the West.
Runner-up: Stephon Marbury
Alternate: Ricky Rubio
Shooting Guard: Andrew Wiggins
Played for Minnesota from 2015-present
While Andrew technically has been playing mostly small forward in the current Timberwolves lineup (or, at least when Zach LaVine is healthy), but we can argue that he is better at the two.
Andrew Wiggins is a mismatch waiting to happen when he plays the two, and if he ran with Sam Cassell at the point guard spot he wouldn’t see very many double-teams.
Wiggins is a scoring machine just waiting to go off. Through his short NBA career, he has already posted double digits in points in all three of his seasons. This season, Andrew Wiggins put up 23.6 points, four rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.
Of course, Wiggins has yet to reach the playoffs, but playing alongside Sam would give him the opportunity to learn from a vet who has felt the playoffs and even won three championships in his career.
The competition for the starting shooting guard position was really only Zach LaVine as shooting guard is probably the thinnest position in Wolves history.
Zach is a true two-guard who can also put numbers in bunches but at the moment I still believe Andrew has more offensive tools. Andrew also provides more on the defensive side of the ball.
Runner Up: Zach LaVine
Small Forward: Wally Szczerbiak
Played for Minnesota from 1999-2006
Enter another Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star and hands down one of the best deep range threats in Wolves history.
For this lineup, we will be using the 2001-02 version of Wally Szczerbiak. Wally put up 18.7 Points points and 4.8 rebounds while dishing out 3.1 assists per game.
But the real reason Wally fits in this lineup is the fact that he shot 50.8 percent from the field while draining an amazing 45.5 percent from three-point range. With Sam Cassell running the point, a healthy Szczerbiak would be in heaven on the three-point line opening the space on the floor for Andrew Wiggins. (Remember, Wally was injured for much of the 2003-04 campaign.)
Szczerbiak has always been the second scoring option but with this current line up he wouldn’t have to be which would make him even more of a threat on the floor.
The competition for Wally’s spot was Sam Mitchell and Doug West.
Mitchell was a glue type player but simply wasn’t a long-range shooter. In today’s NBA, the three-point game is key. This leaves Sam out in the cold for the starting spot with Wiggins at the two.
The argument against Doug West is not as easy as he still goes down as one of the best two-way players in Minnesota history. During the 1992-93 season, Doug averaged 19.3 points per game while having seven games of three or more steals.
His downside is the same as Sam Mitchell: he did not have a reliable long-range jump shot, which puts him second on the list after Wally.
Runner Up: Doug West
Alternate: Sam Mitchell
Power Forward: Kevin Garnett
Played for Minnesota from 1995-2007, 2015-2016
Kevin Garnett is the greatest player to ever play for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, we will be using the 2003-04 Kevin Garnett for this lineup.
KG had his greatest year in 2003-04 when he took home the MVP trophy. The numbers he put up (24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, five assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game) were crazy. These stats helped lead the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals.
Kevin played his best games with Sam Cassell at the point, and if he had stayed healthy in spring of 2004, the Timberwolves would have made the Finals. Adding Andrew Wiggins at the two and Wally at the three, Andrew’s defense would increase drastically and his offense would soar through the roof. Wally would be able to open the floor for Garnett to create havoc in the paint.
The ‘competition’ came with the other Kevin (Love, that is) and Tom Gugliotta.
Kevin Love lost this battle because he still leaves a sour taste in my mouth. (Well, and because KG is KG, of course.) Kevin Love put up great numbers, but never could lead Minnesota to the playoffs. And while it wasn’t completely his fault, Love also doesn’t have the physical presence to compete with Kevin Garnett.
Tom Gugliotta’s three years with Minnesota were great, but none of them were better than Kevin’s MVP year. Googs’ best year came in 1996-97 when he put up 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Runner Up: Kevin Love
Alternate: Tom Gugliotta
Center: Karl-Anthony Towns
Played for Minnesota from 2016-present
Another obvious choice, Karl-Anthony Towns sure seems to be a once in a lifetime kind of player. At 7′-0″ and 244 pounds, this is a center who can drain it from anywhere on the court.
Of course, we will be using this season’s stats during which Towns put up 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
Karl-Anthony was blessed to play alongside Kevin Garnett for one season — even if Kevin only played in a handful of games. He taught Towns how to play the game at the NBA level and how to practice as a professional. The opportunity to play with Garnett in his prime would elevate Towns game to the next level.
So our lineup is Sam Cassell at the point, Andrew Wiggins at the two-guard, Wally Szczerbiak at the three, Kevin Garnett at the other forward spot, and Karl-Anthony Towns anchoring the middle.
This team would be a problem for their opponent, forcing them to guard all over the court. Sam’s playmaking would open the floor for Andrew on the break. Towns and Garnett down low would demand the defenders to stay in the paint demanding help to come which would allow Wally to do what he does best.
And let’s add-in Zach LaVine, Doug West, Kevin Love, and Tom Gugliotta coming off the bench.
Next: What If The Timberwolves Had Nailed the 1996-98 Drafts?
My prediction would be that this team could go something like 59-23 and fight it out with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.