Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 5 steals leaders in team history

4. Sam Mitchell

Another original Timberwolves player, Sam Mitchell pops up on this list due to his ten seasons in a Wolves jersey. His total of 449 steals is good enough to earn him the fourth spot on this countdown.

Mitchell was a 6’6” small forward who started his NBA career with the Timberwolves after playing several years in France. The Wolves took a chance on him as a free agent before their inaugural season and it definitely paid off. He averaged over 12 points per game in his first NBA season while starting 30 total games for the Wolves. He kept up his solid play for a couple years before being traded to the Indiana Pacers in 1992.

Fortunately, after a short stint with the Pacers, Mitchell returned to the Timberwolves in 1995 to play seven more seasons. During his second spell in the Twin Cities, Mitchell averaged double-digit points in multiple seasons despite being well into his thirties. Mitchell played for the Wolves until he was 38 years old, and to this day he is second in franchise history in games played, behind only Kevin Garnett.

After retiring, Mitchell went straight into coaching, where he spent a couple years as an assistant before becoming coaching the Toronto Raptors from 2004-2009 and then later became the interim head coach of the Timberwolves after Flip Saunders’ tragic death in 2015.