Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

• Four seasons with Timberwolves (1995-98)
• Averaged 18.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists with Timberwolves
• 1x All-Star with Timberwolves

Ah, we’ve finally arrived at the first player on the list who made at least one All-Star team with the Timberwolves: Tom Gugliotta.

Googs was a solid player in Washington and Golden State before being sent to Minnesota in the latter part of the 1994-95 campaign. But it was alongside Kevin Garnett during his rookie season in 1995-96 and in his second year in 1996-97 that really allowed Gugliotta to come into his own.

It was Gugliotta’s sixth year before he made the All-Star team as he averaged 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds in 1996-97. The Timberwolves won 40 games and made the first playoff appearance in franchise history, although they were swept by the Houston Rockets in three games in the first round.

Gugliotta was a smooth scorer in the post and in the mid-range, and was a good enough rebounder to complement the springy but raw Garnett. But Gugliotta played in just 41 games the next year due to injury, and was released in the summer of 1998.

Googs then played five-plus years in Phoenix and portions of seasons with Utah, Boston, and Atlanta before his career wound down after the 2004-05 campaign.

In some ways, Gugliotta’s stretch-four game was a bit ahead of its time. He was able to slide down and play the small forward spot at 6-foot-10 and could hit outside shots, although his role was never to knock down threes and he only shot 28.4 percent on 3-point attempts in his career. But he was a deadly pick-and-pop player, and an outstanding passer on the perimeter, and would have fit into today’s game just fine.