The Minnesota Timberwolves struggle to put butts in their seats at the Target Center.
If you have ever been to a Minnesota Timberwolves game the first thing you might realize is how empty the arena is. Even budding stars such as Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns have left fans unwilling to come to the games on a regular basis.
Before the season began, there was hype among some in NBA circles that this would be the year that the Timberwolves finally got back to the playoffs. That hope wasn’t enough either.
During the 2016-17 regular season, the NBA set an attendance record for the third consecutive season, no thanks to the Wolves. The league as a whole drew in 21,997,412 fans, barely surpassing last year’s record of 21,972,129.
The Minnesota Timberwolves only accounted for 607,203 of those fans or 2.76 percent of the total NBA attendance.
More from Dunking with Wolves
- The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
- Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
- In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
- Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
- Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?
To pile on, the NBA also set a sellout record last season with 723. The Wolves only accounted for three of those sellouts. Those three games came against the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to ESPN, the Timberwolves ranked 29th out of 30 teams in total attendance as well as the percentage of their arena filled (76.5 percent).
The Timberwolves total fans and percentage is up from last year when they drew in 581,178 fans equaling 73.2 percent. Both of those numbers also ranked 29th in the NBA.
Minnesota appeared to be a decent road attraction as they drew in the fifth highest percentage of fans during road games at 95.4 percent.
It’s hard to blame fans for not attending games as the Timberwolves have essentially been the Cleveland Browns of the NBA.
They have only made the playoffs eight times in 28 seasons but none of those appearances have come in the past 13 seasons. They have also only won two playoff series and hold an all time playoff record of 16-30 which is the lowest win percentage of any NBA team in the playoffs.
Related Story: The ultimate Minnesota Timberwolves draft guide
If the Minnesota Timberwolves want to turn things around and join the attendance bandwagon, there is only one thing they can do. Just win baby.
Winning cures everything and makes people forget about the bad times. If the Timberwolves truly want to turn their franchise around it starts with the culture.
As of now, they have developed a culture that is synonymous with losing. When people think of or see the Wolves they think of losers.
In order to change this, Minnesota must implement a top-down and bottom-up approach. That means that it starts with the guys at the top of the ladder such as Glen Taylor and Tom Thibodeau. But it also begins with the staff and the guys on the ground level such as assistant coaches, players, etc.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves draft profile: Lauri Markkanen
Everyone must truly embrace the culture of winning in order for it to take a real effect on the team. Only then, fans will begin to flock to the seats and fill the lonely Target Center.