Despite not having a ton of success as a franchise over their 28-year history, the Timberwolves have had a fairly impressive list of big men wear their jersey.
As a franchise, the Timberwolves have not been around for a very long time, breaking into the NBA in the 1989-90 season. They have not had a lot of success throughout the years, and have not so much as made the postseason since the 2003-04 season where Kevin Garnett led them to the Western Conference Finals, where they eventually lose to the Los Angeles Lakers.
During their 28-season history, the Timberwolves have only made the postseason EIGHT times. Their record all-time is 878-1370, which totals a horrendous .391 percent. Hopefully, this upcoming season will change the fortunes of the Minnesota squad.
One thing the Timberwolves are able to claim throughout their history, however, is an impressive run of big men — especially given just how bad the team’s overall record has been throughout the years. Let’s take a look at the top-five big men ever to don a Wolves jersey.
5. Christian Laettner
Per-game stats over four seasons with Timberwolves:
17.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks
The former Duke star was considered a bust during his NBA career but he actually had some very good seasons during his time with the Wolves.
The third-overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft made the All-NBA Rookie First Team during his 1992-93 campaign, averaging 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Laettner was coming off an amazing career in college at Duke, having won two championships, being named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in (1991), College National Player of the Year (1992), Consensus first team All American (1992) ACC Player of the Year (1991, 1992), and Consensus second team All American (1991). He was also the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1991).
Laettner was the only amateur player to make the 1992 Dream Team that took gold in the Olympics in 1992 and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his participation in Barcelona.
It’s easy to forget that Laettner was legitimately a good player during his years in Minnesota even though they did not have much success as a team, failing to miss the playoffs every season he suited up for the Wolves. Laettner was still a force for the Wolves during his time there and beyond. He would probably been higher on this list if he would have stayed on the team longer and made some postseason appearances.
4. Al Jefferson
Per-game stats over three seasons with Timberwolves:
20.1 points, 10.4 rebounds 1.4 blocks
Another forgotten star from some of the horrible Minnesota teams, Jefferson spent his best years in the NBA suiting up for the Wolves.
Coming to Minnesota as the centerpiece of the blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics in 2007, Jefferson showed why he was a force and arguably showed why he was the arguably the best offensive big man in the game at that time, averaging 21 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Kevin McHale was fond of Jefferson and took him under his wing during their time together in Minnesota; Jefferson’s post moves and footwork are essentially what McHale lived off of as a player.
The 2008-09 season went well for Big Al as well as he averaged 23.1 points, 11 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The season was cut to just 50 games, however, as Jefferson suffered a torn ACL. He then had a good comeback season in 2009-10 averaging 17.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He was traded the following year in part to to make room for Darko Milicic, Michael Beasley and Nikola Pekovic. Plus, there was the somewhat awkward fit alongside Kevin Love.
Big Al has continued to have success on other teams, but quite to the level of what he enjoyed in Minnesota. He landed in fourth on this list because of the lack of wins of those teams, and he ultimately played just the three seasons with the Wolves.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns
Per-game stats over two seasons with Timberwolves:
21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 36.1 3P%
We could probably make an argument that KAT should be second on this list; Special K probably should’ve made an All NBA Team this past season.
Still only 21 years young, he is coming off a season in which he averaged 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. KAT is very talented for a young player and is probably further along than anybody on this list when they were 21 years of age.
Towns had many honors during his amateur career, winning consensus second-team All-American (2015), First Team All-SEC (2015), Gatorade National Player of the Year (2014), McDonald’s All American (2014), and Parade All-American (2014). He was selected with the first-overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft before winning Rookie of the Year, becoming only the fifth rookie to do so in unanimous fashion. He also earned Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors all six months of the NBA season — the first Timberwolves player to achieve that.
Towns broke Laettner’s franchise rookie scoring record of 1,475 points. He also broke rookie records for rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage in the Timberwolves franchise. He also broke Kevin Love’s franchise record for most points in a season for the franchise.
Of course, Towns is only scratching the surface of how good he can be, and still is learning. He has played every game so far in his two-year career and has made improvements across the board during each season. Don’t be surprised if KAT finishes his career as the best Wolf ever.
2. Kevin Love
Per-game stats over six seasons with Timberwolves:
19.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 36.2 3P%
The fifth-overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft came in with a lot of hype around him from his play during his lone season with UCLA. Love kept getting better every season after his rookie year, earning honors on the 2008-09 All-Rookie Second Team, winning the 2010-11 Most Improved Player and All-NBA Second Team honors during the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons.
During his rookie year, Love led all rookies in double-doubles with 29. Love also held a streak of 53 double-doubles during the 2010-11 season. He also led the league in offensive rebound percentage during each of his first two seasons, and had his memorable 30 point-30 rebound game in 2010 — the first 30-30 game in 28 years.
Love was unquestionably the best rebounder in the NBA and arguably the best big man in the league at the time. He had some record-breaking seasons — numbers we don’t see often — breaking records from 30-plus years prior. He previously held the record for most points in a season by a Timberwolves player and also broke Kevin Garnett’s record for most points per game from a Timberwolves player with 26.2 points per game. Garnett held the record with 24.2 points per game.
Unfortunately, Love was never able to lead the Wolves back to the playoffs despite putting up Wilt-like numbers and the team’s best record with him as their leader was in 2013-14 when they just barely missed the .500 mark, finishing with a 40-42 record.
1. Kevin Garnett
Per-game stats over 14 seasons with Timberwolves:
19.8 points, 11 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.6 blocks, 1.4 steals
Who else would be number-one but the Big Ticket?
KG did everything for the Timberwolves, and he was everything for the Wolves. He was Minnesota. He had the heart of a wolf; he was furious, passionate, crazy, energetic, focused every night. He left his blood, sweat and tears on that Target Center hardwood floor.
Garnett won the Most Valuable Player award during the 2003-04 season and showed up to work every day, ready to go to war. When you think of the Timberwolves, you automatically think about Kevin Garnett. KG led the NBA in win shares during both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. He was also a perennial All-Star, All-NBA candidate, All-NBA Defensive candidate, and a league-leader in multiple other categories: from 2002-07, KG led the league in total defensive rebounds. He led the league in total rebounds from 2003-05, and rebounds per game from 2003-2007.
There was no way anybody else would land the top spot on this list. We don’t yet know when Garnett’s jersey will be retired by Minnesota, but hopefully it will be this upcoming season. He never had a lot of help outside of the 2003-04 season, but he always gave the Wolves a chance to win.
Next: Timberwolves to re-sign Shabazz Muhammad
While it’s a shame that Garnett was not able to win a ring in Minnesota, he did give fans his all and it felt right that he retired having last worn a Timberwolves jersey.