Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 30 greatest players of all-time

• Seven seasons with Timberwolves (1999-2006)
• Averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists
• 1x All-Star with Timberwolves

Wally Szczerbiak was the second-best player on most of the prime Kevin Garnett Timberwolves squads around and shortly after the turn of the century, and his longevity, combined with his brief and early peak, lands him at No. 4.

As a rookie, Szczerbiak appeared in 73 games and started 53 while averaging 11.6 points per game. After a decent sophomore season in which his playing time and overall scoring increased but his shooting percentages dipped, Szczerbiak made his lone All-Star team in 2001-02, his third season with the Wolves.

During the 2001-02 campaign, Wally averaged 18.7 points in 38 minutes per game while shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc and 50.8 percent from the field. His success came almost entirely on jumpers, as only 16.7 percent of his field goal attempts came from within three feet of the rim, according to Basketball-Reference.

Szczerbiak started to suffer from knee issues in 2002, and in the Western Conference Finals season of 2003-04, Szczerbiak played only 28 regular season games and 12 playoff contests, all off the bench.

Wally World was traded to the Boston Celtics in January of 2006. He was in Boston for just over a year before being traded to Seattle. Then, he finished his career with a season and a half with the Cleveland Cavaliers that included a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals with LeBron James in 2009.

It was a disappointing nosedive to what started as such a promising career. But Szczerbiak’s early years in Minnesota were great, and Wolves fans remember him fondly for them.