The history of the Minnesota Timberwolves is shorter (and admittedly less star-studded) than many other NBA franchises, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t have their own list of the 30 best players to ever don their jersey.
This list of the 30 best players to ever play for the Minnesota Timberwolves will send long-time fans on a journey.
It won’t be the most pleasant trip down memory lane at times, to be sure. After all, no dalliance in Wolves lore is entirely safe. But there are absolutely players worth highlighting.
From the early days of the franchise, which began in 1989, to the team’s rise to the playoffs with a young Kevin Garnett in the mid-1990s, to the recent Ricky Rubio/Kevin Love era (while successful compared to several of the previous squads, neither player made the playoffs in Wolves threads), to the current Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler-led team, there are three or four distinct eras to choose from.
Here are the brief ground rules: this list only takes into account what they’ve done in a Timberwolves uniform. For instance, Stephon Marbury is not the 30th-best NBA player to have played for the Wolves, but his success in Minnesota was limited due to the short amount of time he was on the team.
Likewise, Jimmy Butler is probably the second-best all-around player to ever suit up for the Wolves, but after only one season it wouldn’t make sense to put him at No. 2 — although he is quite high on the list.
Without further delay, let’s dive into the list at No. 30.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (1996-99)
- Averaged 16.9 points and 8.3 assists with Timberwolves
- Traded during third season, prior to any All-Star appearances
As mentioned above, Marbury certainly had a peak as an NBA player that could deserve a higher ranking, but he only played two-plus seasons in a Timberwolves uniform before he was traded for Terrell Brandon.
Somewhat surprisingly, Marbury, who averaged 19.3 points per game for his career and enjoyed seven seasons of scoring north of 20 points per contest, was only named to two All-Star teams, one with New Jersey and one with Phoenix.
Marbury was selected fourth-overall by Milwaukee and was traded on draft night in 1996 for Ray Allen. He was a rookie for Minnesota’s first-ever playoff appearance and was on the team for a first-round loss to Seattle the following year as well. But by the trade deadline in his third season, Marbury was disgruntled with his role as second-fiddle to Kevin Garnett and reportedly asked to be traded.
The Wolves did just that, bringing back two-time All-Star and point guard Brandon, who was solid complement alongside Garnett.
All told, Marbury averaged 16.9 points and 8.3 assists with the Timberwolves, and Wolves fans have always been left to wonder what could have become of a KG/Starbury combo had things turned out differently.
- Two seasons with Timberwolves (2003-05)
- Averaged 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds and shot 46.1 percent on 3-pointers with Timberwolves
Fred Hoiberg is the current coach of the Chicago Bulls, and was previously the head coach at his alma mater, Iowa State. Before that, he was a front office executive in Minnesota for several years.
But even before that, Hoiberg enjoyed a 10-year NBA career, with four seasons in Indiana, four in Chicago, and his final two campaigns with the Timberwolves.
While Hoiberg only averaged 6.2 points per game in just two seasons in Minnesota, he was a key member of the bench on the 2003-04 team that went to the Western Conference Finals, averaging 22.8 minutes per game and shooting 44.2 percent from 3-point range. He posted the third-most Win Shares on that squad, behind only Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell, and played important minutes for the team.
Depending on matchups, Hoiberg would receive playing time down the stretch, especially when opposing teams would go small. He could guard both wing spots with some success, and his long-range shooting was a welcomed added dimension, and was vital in the wake of Wally Szczerbiak‘s injury during the run to the Western Conference Finals.
Hoiberg never averaged double-figures in any single season of his career, which was cut short at age 33 due to an enlarged aortic root. He retired from playing and coached briefly with the Wolves before joining the front office for the next four years.
Then, on to Iowa State, and finally, head coach of the Bulls, where he famously butted heads with All-Star (and current Timberwolf) Jimmy Butler.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (1995-98)
- Averaged 8.6 points and 4.1 assists per game with Timberwolves
Terry Porter was a two-time All-Star with the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 14.9 points over the course of 10 seasons with them while shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range. He arrived in the Twin Cities in 1995, just in time to be part of Kevin Garnett’s rookie year, and play a key role in the franchise’s first-ever playoff team the following season.
In year one, Porter started 40 games at point guard. In year two, Stephon Marbury became the regular starting one, and Porter was a key member of the bench unit. Over the course of three seasons in Minnesota, Porter didn’t miss a single game and averaged 22.1 minutes per contest, despite only starting in 68 of 246 total games.
TP was often credited with playing a key mentor role for Garnett, although Marbury’s career didn’t exactly pan out as the Wolves had hoped. But between Porter and Sam Mitchell, KG had a pair of important role models early in his career.
Porter played on both of the first two playoff squads in Wolves history. Then, it was off to Miami for one season before his final three years were spent in San Antonio with the Spurs.
Porter became an assistant coach under Rick Adelman in Sacramento in 2002-03 before receiving a shot to coach the Milwaukee Bucks for two years, posting a record of 71-93. He coached the Phoenix Suns on an interim basis in 2008-09 after Alvin Gentry’s firing, finishing there with a 28-23 mark.
He returned to Minnesota as an assistant under Adelman from 2011-14 and was a candidate for the head job as well, but has not returned to the game since.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (2010-13)
- Averaged 11.7 points and 4.6 assists with Timberwolves
Luke Ridnour was a signature signing of the David Kahn era, as the largely clueless front office executive seemingly collected point guards and diminutive scoring guards.
He was signed only a summer after the Wolves drafted Ricky Rubio (though the Spaniard had not yet come stateside), Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington and the year before the Timberwolves added J.J. Barea.
But Ridnour was rock-solid for some bad Wolves teams, playing in 71 games and starting 66 in he final year of the reign of head coach Kurt Rambis, appearing in 53 games in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season with Rick Adelman as coach, and starting all 82 games for Adelman the following year.
Ridnour was asked to play plenty of point guard early on with the Wolves, but with the arrival of Rubio, Ridnour shifted over to play the two-spot. It was always an issue defensively, but Ridnour provided a scoring element that the Wolves’ backcourt otherwise lacked.
Despite having a reputation as a shooter, Ridnour’s career 3-point mark was just 34.9 percent, although he shot 44 percent in his first year as a Wolf. In his Wolves career, he hit on 35.8 percent of his threes. He was also known for his floater game, which came up big in a big spot.
Ridnour was dealt as part of the sign-and-trade that brought Kevin Martin to the Timberwolves in the summer of 2013. He split a season with the Bucks and Hornets before finishing his career in 2014-15 with the Orlando Magic.
Ridnour was never a flashy player, outside of the game-winning buzzer-beater, but was a steady, effective scorer on teams that struggled to put the ball in the basket efficiently.
- Four years with Timberwolves (2003-07)
- Averaged 6.9 points and 3 rebounds with Timberwolves
Trenton Hassell was the first pick of the second round by the Chicago Bulls in 2001. After two years in Chi-town, he was waived and picked up in free agency by the Timberwolves.
Hassell stepped in and was the primary starting shooting guard for the Western Conference Finals team in 2003-04. He often guarded the opposing team’s best player, and along with Latrell Sprewell formed a solid wing duo that was part of one of the league’s best defenses.
In 18 playoff starts, Hassell, a career 44.5 percent shooter, shot 52.1 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the free throw line while averaging 7.7 points per game. He came up big guarding Denver’s Carmelo Anthony in the first round and holding Melo to just 32.8 percent shooting.
Then came a rough-and-tumble series against Sacramento in the second round that went seven games. Peja Stojakovic, the Kings’ sharpshooting wing, only shot 35.7 from the field and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Hassell was never a good offensive player, but knew his limits and generally stayed within them. Being a starter on the best team in Timberwolves history and one of it’s best defenders is enough to get him on to this list.
After four years in Minnesota, Hassell played half a season in Dallas before finishing his career with two-plus years with the New Jersey Nets. The best years of his career, as well as the only season in which Hassell played in the playoffs, came with the Timberwolves.
- Five seasons with Timberwolves (1996-97, 1998-2001)
- Averaged 4.2 points and 4.3 rebounds with the Timberwolves
Dean Garrett played two separate stints with the Timberwolves. The first came as a 30-year-old rookie in 1996-97 after spending eight years playing overseas.
After a season with the Denver Nuggets where he started all 82 games, he was traded back to the Timberwolves along with Bobby Jackson. He spent the next three-plus seasons in Minnesota before finishing his career with a five-game stint with Golden State.
Garrett was a part-time starter in his first two full seasons in Minnesota but by 1999-2000 he was playing just 10.8 minutes per game. He was never a very good offensive player, only shooting 48 percent from the field for his career despite shooting most of his shots around the rim.
Garrett was a great defender, however, and contributed greatly on that end of the floor. He was Kevin Garnett’s partner-in-crime when it came to protecting the paint, and the two were a formidable duo for several years in a row.
The end of Garrett’s career coincided with the slow decline of the true, defensive-minded center in the NBA. But he was always a solid matchup for the star centers in the league, including Shaquille O’Neal, Vlade Divac, and Alonzo Mourning, among others.
The Garrett-Garnett duo was part of four consecutive playoff squads, although it was the midst of the Wolves’ almost yearly foray into the first round of the postseason. He never reached the second round, but was still an important part of a series of decent teams, and that’s enough for No. 25.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (1989-92)
- Averaged 20.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with Timberwolves
- Led Wolves in scoring during inaugural season with 23.2 points per game
Tony Campbell was signed as a free agent by the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989, prior to the franchise’s inaugural season, and was immediately the team’s best scorer.
After never having played 19 or more minutes per game in the first five years of his career split between the Pistons and Lakers, Campbell stepped in and played in all 82 games, averaging a whopping 38.6 minutes and 23.2 points per game for a 22-win Wolves team.
His scoring dipped a bit the next year and even more in his third year in Minnesota, but still managed to average 20.6 points per game over the course of his three seasons in a Timberwolves uniform. They were never good during his tenure, of course, through no fault of his own.
Campbell was a good scorer but was never ultra-efficient. He wasn’t a great long-range shooter, and outside of his huge 1989-90 season with the Timberwolves, didn’t get to the free throw line all that much, either. But on a bad team with quite a few young players, Campbell had every opportunity to have the ball in his hands and assert himself, and had one of the better scoring seasons in franchise history.
Campbell was ultimately sent to the Knicks in exchange for a second-round pick just prior to the 1992-93 season. He played a season and a half in New York and finished his career with a half-season in Dallas and a season in Cleveland.
- Two seasons with Timberwolves (2000-02)
- Averaged 10.9 points and 4.5 assists per game with Timberwolves
Chauncey Billups was not exactly Mr. Big Shot when he came to Minnesota back in 2000.
Billups was the third-overall pick of the Boston Celtics back in 1997 but was traded to Toronto as a rookie. Then he was traded again, this time to Denver. After two seasons with the Nuggets, Billups headed north to Minneapolis and joined forces with head coach Flip Saunders.
Billups was only a part-time starter for the Wolves over the course of two seasons but played the role of sixth-man when he did come off the bench. He averaged 10.9 points per game over the two years, playing a combo guard role that saw him be forced to distribute the ball at a higher (and more successful) rate than the first few years of his pro career.
Saunders, a point guard-minded coach, was a perfect match with Billups. After his two seasons in Minnesota, which saw the Wolves use in the first-round of the playoffs each time, he left in free agency once again, signing in Detroit, where he played for six-plus seasons.
After playing under Rick Carlisle in year one in Detroit, he then suited up for Larry Brown for a couple of years, including winning a title in 2003-04 before Saunders headed to Motown a couple of years later.
Billups went on to make seven consecutive All-Star teams — five as a Piston and two with the Nuggets. He finished his career with a half-season in New York and two with the Clippers before a 19-game swan song in Detroit in 2013-14.
Saunders and the Wolves receive credit for helping Billups turn around what seemed like a lost career after just three years in the NBA. He was an important part of the rotation in Minnesota, even if it was only for two seasons.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (1989-91)
- Averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists with Timberwolves
- Selected in 1989 NBA Expansion Draft
Tyrone Corbin was the fourth-overall selection in the 1989 Expansion Draft, second by the Timberwolves and the top selection to play a game for the franchise. (Rick Mahorn was the Wolves’ first pick but was traded to Philadelphia before the season began.)
Corbin was the second-leading scorer on the inaugural team behind only Tony Campbell. He was more of an all-around contributor, however, pitching in on the glass and distributing the basketball.
He was also more of an efficient player, shooting 48.1 percent from the field in 1989-90 and 45.9 percent overall as a Timberwolf. As expected, the team was not good in either season, but Corbin capitalized on the opportunity to boost his numbers.
The Timberwolves traded him to the Jazz shortly after the start of the 1991-92 season, where he spent two-plus years and enjoyed his last season scoring in double-figures.
From there, Corbin bounced from Atlanta to Sacramento to Miami, then back to Atlanta, Sacramento again, and spent the final year of his career in Toronto in 2000-01. He was Utah’s head coach from 2011 to 2014 and the Kings’ interim coach for 28 games in 2015. His career coaching record is 119-167 (.416 percent).
As the Wolves’ top pick in the expansion draft and arguably their best all-around player for the franchise’s first two years of existence, Corbin certainly deserves the No. 22 slot on the countdown.
- Five seasons with Timberwolves (1992-96, 1997-98)
- Averaged 12.3 points and 6.8 assists with Timberwolves
Micheal Williams was a second-round pick of the Detroit Pistons in 1988 and broke out with the Pacers in 1991-92. He was traded to the Wolves that offseason along with Chuck Person in somewhat of a mini-blockbuster trade that sent Sam Mitchell and Pooh Richardson to Indiana.
Indeed, Williams averaged career-highs in both points (15.1) and assists (8.7) per game in 1992-93. Then, another solid year, averaging 13.7 points and 7.2 assists in 76 games in 1993-94. It surely felt as though the then-27-year-old was headed for a solid prime, and perhaps even an All-Star game appearance or two.
But then, injuries struck and plagued Williams for the remainder of his NBA career. He played in just one game in 1994-95, nine games in 1995-96, and zero games the following year. Then, 25 games in 1997-98 before being traded to Toronto, where he only appeared in two games before retiring in 1999.
Williams still holds the streak for most consecutive made free throws during the NBA regular season, which took place across the end of the 1992-93 season and the beginning of the following campaign. His career free throw mark was 86.8 percent.
Williams was a great all-around player when healthy, distributing the ball at a high rate while maintaining a fairly low number of turnovers. And he scored when called upon, possessing the ability to get the free throw line often and convert when he got there.
His peak and overall talent, which did include two solid years with the Wolves, is more than enough to get him to No. 21 on the list.
- Five seasons with Timberwolves (2013-present)
- Averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game
As the 21st pick in the 2013 draft, Gorgui Dieng was part of a draft night trade, acquired along with Shabazz Muhammad (pick No. 14), in exchange for Trey Burke, who was selected with the No. 9 pick.
Despite being the lowest draft selection of the trio, Dieng has been the best NBA player of the three, and it hasn’t been particularly close. He also far outpaces both Muhammad and Burke in career earnings, having signed a massive contract extension in the fall of 2016.
Despite being drafted as a 24-year-old after winning a national championship at Louisville, Dieng didn’t play much early in his rookie season under head coach Rick Adelman. He eventually earned his way on to the court, however, even starting 15 games out of his 60 appearances during the 2013-14 campaign.
The next year, Dieng averaged 30 minutes per game under Flip Saunders for a 16-win squad, scoring 9.7 points and grabbing 8.3 rebounds per contest. The next year, Dieng played in all 82 games with interim coach Sam Mitchell at the helm.
Then, after signing his contract extension, Dieng shifted from center to power forward to start alongside second-year sensation Karl-Anthony Towns and started all 82 games at the four in Tom Thibodeau’s first year in Minnesota. He averaged 10 points and a career-high 7.9 rebounds per game and added a decent 3-point shot, hitting on 37.2 percent of 43 attempts on the year, including 45.2 percent from the corners.
The Wolves’ acquisition of Taj Gibson in the summer of 2017 meant that Dieng was relegated to a bench role. Despite being expected to be the third big man in the rotation, backing up both Gibson and Towns, Dieng only played the ninth-most minutes on the team, and his 16.9 minutes per game were his lowest since his rookie season.
Dieng is a capable third big and should be logging somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes on a nightly basis. He’s best used in the pick-and-roll game with a pass-first point guard; his most effective years were when he played heavy minutes alongside Ricky Rubio.
Dieng remains on the roster and figures to be a key member of the rotation in 2017-18, especially with the departure of stretch-four Nemanja Bjelica in free agency. His contract will be tough to trade, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see the fifth-year big man on the trade market in the coming months, either.
- Four seasons with Timberwolves (1998-2000, 2001-03)
- Averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds with Timberwolves
If we factor in the salary cap scandal that occurred around the turn of the century, it would be hard to put Joe Smith on this list. After all, he did cost the team three first-round picks — although it’s not like Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor weren’t to blame, either.
But, strictly based on on-court play, Smith definitely deserves his No. 19 ranking.
Smith was the first-overall draft pick in 1995 out of the University of Maryland, which was the same draft that saw Kevin Garnett go fifth to the Timberwolves. Smith played two-and-a-half solid seasons with Golden State before being traded to Philadelphia, where he struggled in 30 games at the end of the 1997-98 season.
Then, Smith signed with Minnesota in free agency, and for far below market value. He turned out to be a good complement to Garnett and averaged 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds over 42 starts in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign. The next year, with the additions of Wally Szczerbiak and Malik Sealy, Smith came off the bench and saw his per-game numbers dip.
After the season, the scandal (the Wolves agreed to pay Smith less money up front in exchange for a higher-dollar, longer-term deal later in order to save cap space) was discovered and the Wolves released Smith, who signed with Detroit. After one year the Pistons, Smith came back to the Timberwolves for two more seasons before embarking on a journey around the NBA that lasted all the way until 2011.
Overall, Smith was a solid defender and good all-around player for the Timberwolves. Ideally, the Wolves would have had more scoring punch behind/next to Garnett, but Smith’s defense and ability to guard three positions with some effectiveness was key to the Wolves’ relative success over Smith’s four seasons in Minnesota.
- Four seasons with Timberwolves (2014-present)
- Averaging 19.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game
- First-overall pick by Cleveland in 2014 draft, acquired in Kevin Love trade
Andrew Wiggins has been one of the most polarizing figures among hardcore NBA fans over the past four seasons.
Wiggins was (unfairly, of course) anointed Maple Jordan by basketball fans after the Toronto native dominated in high school at Huntington Prep in West Virginia. He was a one-and-done player at the University of Kansas, averaging 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his lone season as a Jayhawk.
Upon being drafted first-overall by Cleveland in 2014, he was shipped to Minnesota in the wake of the Cavalier’s re-acquisition of LeBron James, who had pushed for the Cavs to acquire veterans to load up alongside The King. Coincidentally, Kevin Love reportedly had asked out of Minnesota, and Wolves boss Flip Saunders patiently waited until weeks after the draft before pulling off the blockbuster.
Wiggins scored his way to the Rookie of the Year award, putting up 16.9 points per game on a 16-win team in 2014-15. The next year, he upped his average to 20.7 per game, but saw his rebounding drop by a full board per contest — a two-year mini-preview of what the first four years of Wiggins’ career have looked like: one step forward, two steps back.
Year Three featured more of the same, only this time it was the outside shot that improved, to the tune of 35.6 percent from beyond the arc after hovering around the 30 percent mark in his first few seasons. But the defense slipped, and the distributing and rebounding stagnated.
In 2017-18, Wiggins had to adjust to a third-option (and sometimes, fourth option) role behind Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, and, at times, Jeff Teague. His numbers dipped across the board, the shooting regressed, and there were no meaningful steps forward.
All that said, Wiggins was still a Rookie of the Year award winner, and the prize that the Wolves received for trading away one of the best players in franchise history. And he’s still with the team, signing a mammoth extension in the fall of 2017.
The rest of Wiggins’ story has yet to be written, and he could still find his way much, much higher on this list. Only time will tell.
- Six seasons with Timberwolves (1998-2003)
- Averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game and shot 37.9 percent on 3-point attempts with Timberwolves
- Timberwolves’ all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 465
Anthony Peeler was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1992. He played in L.A. for four seasons before joining the Vancouver Grizzlies. After one-plus season north of the border, Peeler was traded to Minnesota, where he spent the bulk of his career.
Peeler had been a 38.4 percent 3-point shooter over the first six years of his career, but in 1998-99, his first full year with the Wolves, he shot long-balls at a horrible 29.8 percent clip. He only started and played in 28 games due to injury in the lockout-shortened season, however, and things turned around the following year.
Peeler largely came off the bench in 1999-2000 and improved his 3-point shooting to 33.3 percent. In 2000-01, his percentage rocketed up to 39.1 percent, and Peeler shot a combined 39.7 percent over his last three years in Minnesota.
Of his 379 regular season games with the Wolves, Peeler started 154, and averaged 27.2 minutes per game. Whether starting or coming off the bench, he was always a vital part of coach Flip Saunders’ rotation.
In his six seasons with Minnesota, Peeler and the Wolves never managed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Ironically, Peeler joined the Sacramento Kings in 2003-04 and reached the Western Conference Finals, only to face-off against Saunders, Kevin Garnett, and the Timberwolves.
And then, this happened…
Who knows, if Peeler hadn’t ‘bowed KG in the face, he may have ended up even higher on this list.
As it stands, Peeler is the all-time Timberwolves franchise leader in 3-point field goals made, which says a lot about Peeler’s longevity and proficiency from beyond the arc, as well as the dearth of long-range artists that have donned a Wolves jersey.
- Five seasons with Timberwolves (1998-2003)
- Averaged 7.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game
Right off the bat, here’s some fun Rasho trivia: Rasho Nesterovic was acquired using the first-round draft pick that the Timberwolves acquired in the Ray Allen/Stephon Marbury draft night trade.
Nesterovic played in all 82 games as a sophomore in the league after barely playing as a rookie. He averaged just 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game that year but was a vital cog in the defensive unit alongside Kevin Garnett.
Nesterovic only cracked double-digits in scoring average once, and it was in his final year in Minnesota prior to hitting free agency. In 2002-03 (which also happened to be the last season before the Timberwolves finally cracked the seemingly impossible code that was the first round of the Western Conference playoffs), Rasho put up 11.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Nesterovic was part of the old-guard of Timberwolves players who were on the perennial first-round-losing teams, along with No. 17 on this list, Anthony Peeler. Both players left Minnesota prior to the 2003-04 Western Conference Finals squad.
After leaving the Timberwolves, Nesterovic played three seasons with the Spurs, winning a championship in 2005. He finished his career with two seasons in Toronto, one with the Indiana Pacers, and a final year with the Raptors in 2009-10.
For the No. 17 overall pick and a player that only played in two games at the tail-end of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign, Nesterovic turned in a solid all-around career, and that’s enough to place him 16th on the list of the best Wolves of all-time.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (1989-92)
- Averaged 15 points, 8.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game
- Played in all 246 possible games with the Wolves, starting 212
Pooh Richardson was the first-ever draft selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise, selected 10th overall in 1989 out of UCLA.
Richardson played in all 82 games as a rookie, which quickly became a theme for the 15th-ranked player on our countdown. Pooh played (and started in) all 82 games in his second and third seasons, and was a fan-favorite for his durability and all-around play.
He was a pass-first point guard, dishing out 8.8 assists per game over the course of his three years in Minnesota. But Richardson could score too; he put up 17.1 points per game in 1990-91 and 16.5 per-game the following year. Pooh shot 46.6 percent from the field in a Wolves uniform and 44.4 percent over the course of his 10-year NBA career.
Richardson was traded along with Sam Mitchell (who you’ll also find on this list) to Indiana in exchange for sharpshooter Chuck Person and Michael Williams (already ranked at No. 21).
He never found the same success elsewhere as he enjoyed while wearing Wolves threads. Part of that has to do with the freedom that comes with playing on a bad expansion team, of course, but at any rate, Richardson never averaged more than 11.7 points per game in a single season over the rest of his career.
Richardson was one of the early fan favorites and led the franchise in assists until Kevin Garnett passed him, and still holds the second-highest mark on the list for a point guard, trailing only Ricky Rubio.
- Nine seasons with the Timberwolves (1989-98)
- Averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2 assists
- Member of inaugural Timberwolves team in 1989-90
Doug West was the third of three selections by the Timberwolves in the 1989 NBA Draft, their first as a franchise, and he stayed with the team the longest of the trio. Nine seasons anywhere will land most players on a top 30 list for any given franchise, and West deserves this spot.
Even still, West barely played in his first two seasons, appearing in averaging just 9.5 minutes per game over the two campaigns. But in year three he became a starter, putting up 14 points and 3.5 assists per game and cementing his role for the next several years.
From his age-24 to age-27 seasons, West averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and leading the Wolves’ backcourt scoring effort. Ultimately, West played nine seasons in Minnesota before heading to the then Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998 and spending the last three seasons of his career in Canada.
West did average 19.3 points per game on 51.7 percent shooting in 1992-93 while the Wolves won just 19 games, but never averaged more than 14.7 points per game in any other season of his career. In fact, West only averaged 14 or more points per game three times, and double-digits just four times in his 12-year NBA career.
Also notable: West was a member of the first two Timberwolves playoff squads — something to be celebrated with a franchise that has such a thin playoff history, including just one year beyond the first-round of postseason play.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (2007-10)
- Averaged 20.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game
- Acquired from Boston in Kevin Garnett trade in summer of 2007
Al Jefferson is not only No. 13 on our list of top Timberwolves of all-time, but he also ranks highly on any list of “best players to never be named to an All-Star team”.
Indeed, Jefferson has averaged a double-double four times in his career, including twice with the Timberwolves. He was the centerpiece of the Garnett-to-Boston trade orchestrated by the Wolves’ Kevin McHale and his old Celtics teammate, Boston front office boss Danny Ainge.
Jefferson was indeed a monster with his back to the basket, arguably leading the league in best post moves for several seasons in a row.
In his last year with the Celtics, as a 22-year-old in 2006-07, Jefferson averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. In his first year in Minnesota — still just 23 years of age — he averaged another double-double, putting up 21 and 11.1.
The Wolves won just 22 games that year under head coach Randy Wittman, however, and things didn’t get better the next year, either. Wittman was fired after a 4-15 start, but the Wolves still only won 24 games despite Jefferson’s best efforts: 23.1 points and 11 rebounds per game.
But disaster befell Jefferson and the Wolves that season. Big Al tore his ACL in game No. 50, a close loss to the Hornets. Adding insult to injury was that the Wolves had gone on a tear, recovering from a 4-23 start to the season (including losing eight in a row under interim head coach McHale) to go 12-4 from Christmas through Jan. 26. Then, a series of mostly close losses prior to Jefferson’s devastating injury.
The big man returned in short order, however, managing to play in 76 games the next year, although his per-game numbers dipped to 17.1 points and 9.3 rebounds. Since the injury, Jefferson has only put up one double-double season, with Charlotte in 2013-14.
Jefferson was traded to Utah after the 2009-10 season as the Wolves chose to keep third-year big man Kevin Love. While it proved to be the right decision, it doesn’t change that Big Al Jefferson was one of the best scorers — and the 13th-best overall player — in franchise history.
- Six seasons with Timberwolves (2010-16)
- Averaged 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game
The Timberwolves drafted Nikola Pekovic with the No. 31 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft — the first pick of the second round. Pekovic didn’t come over until 2010, but was the reigning MVP of Euroleague when he chose to head overseas to the U.S.
The hulking Montenegrin struggled to stay on the court as a rookie in the NBA, playing just 13.6 minutes per game over 65 contests as a rookie as he adjusted to the … less physical play of the American game.
But in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign, Pekovic’s second stateside, he put up 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game over 47 contests. The next year, Pek’s numbers increased to 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, although he only played in 62 of 82 contests as injuries started to mount.
His best statistical season came in 2013-14 under head coach Rick Adelman. Pekovic tallied 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game despite only appearing in 54 games. The foot and ankle injuries cropped up once again, and the big man was severely limited.
The 2013-14 season was the 40-42 year in which the Wolves barely missed the playoffs, despite a positive point differential and a monster year from Kevin Love, who put up 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game next to Pek’s 17.5 and 8.7. It was a season that almost-was, similar to Pekovic’s career.
Over his last two years in the NBA, Pekovic appeared in just 43 out of 164 possible games. It was a disappointing end to a promising career for a once-dominant offensive player, but Pekovic’s peak, regardless of its brevity, was enough to land him at No. 12 on our list.
- Four seasons with Timberwolves (1993-96)
- Averaged 17.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game
Christian Laettner always seems to have gotten a bad rap. (See: I Hate Christian Laettner) But bad rap or not, Laettner still managed to just barely miss cracking the top-10 in our list of best Wolves of all-time.
After being selected third by the Timberwolves in 1993, Laettner started 81 games and put up 18.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game as a rookie. The next year, his shooting percentage dropped from 47.4 percent to just 44.8 percent, but Laettner still scored 16.8 points per contest.
His numbers dropped again in his third season, and he was traded midway through the 1995-96 season to the Atlanta Hawks, where he notched his only career All-Star appearance.
But all that said, Laettner’s three-plus years in Minnesota were solid, and the perfect mix of longevity, production, and status that gets him to No. 11 on the countdown. A career line of 17.2 points and 8.1 rebounds with the Timberwolves while shooting 47.4 percent from the field is really good, and shouldn’t be overlooked.
When the Wolves traded him to Atlanta, however, the return for Laettner wasn’t much to write home about. Along with Sean Rooks, the former No. 3 pick netted only rentals Andrew Lang and Spud Webb. And all that for a team that wasn’t going anywhere; the 1995-96 Wolves won just 26 games and wouldn’t make the playoffs until the following year — Flip Saunders’ first year at the helm.
So, hate Laettner if you must. Just know that if you’re a Wolves fan, he was the 11th-best player that your favorite squad has ever trotted out on to the court.
- Four seasons with Timberwolves (1999-2002)
- Averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 assists with Timberwolves
Terrell Brandon was a two-time All-Star with the Cleveland Cavaliers, being named to the Eastern Conference squad back-to-back times in 1996 and 1997. Then, after a season-plus in Milwaukee, he was shipped to the Wolves in a three-team trade that also sent disgruntled guard Stephon Marbury to the New Jersey Nets.
Brandon was added to a team with budding superstar Kevin Garnett, but it was a team that had just experienced back-to-back first-round exits from the playoffs. The Wolves were looking for a steady, veteran hand at the point guard spot to help guide the 22-year-old Garnett and the rest of the squad to their first postseason series win.
That didn’t happen, of course, as the Wolves didn’t win a series until 2004, two years after Brandon’s retirement due to injury. But Brandon did manage to score 17.1 points per game in 1999-2000, which was the third-highest per-game total in any season in his 11-year career.
Flip Saunders liked his point guards to have the ball in their hands a lot, which meant that Brandon was also able to dish out 8.3 assists per game over his three-plus seasons in Minnesota. He had his most proficient long-range shooting season with the Wolves, too, shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from beyond the arc while launching 1.9 attempts per game in 1999-2000.
Brandon only played through age 31, and while he was officially traded to Atlanta in July of 2003, he hadn’t suited up for a game in over a year and never set foot in the Hawks’ arena.
It was an unfortunate end to a solid career, and may have a had a hand in further delaying the Timberwolves’ playoff success.
- 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.
- Six seasons with the Timberwolves (2011-17)
- Averaged 10.3 points, 8.5 assists, and two steals per game
- Second in Timberwolves history in total assists and total steals
Ricky Rubio was a worthy fifth-overall selection back in 2009; there was zero shock when the pick was announced. But you’d be forgiven if that part of the Rubio story has been forgotten.
David Kahn and the Timberwolves picked Syracuse Orange point guard Jonny Flynn one slot later at No. 6, essentially ensuring that Rubio wouldn’t come stateside immediately, and, of course, passing on Stephen Curry.
But that’s not what this list is about, so let’s forget about it. Or, as best we can, at least.
When Rubio eventually came over in the lockout-shortened season of 2011-12, he averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game before tearing his ACL in a March game against the Lakers.
The big knock on Rubio, of course, has always been his shooting ability. Indeed, Rubio shot just 35.7 percent from the field (that’s from the field, not on threes) as a rookie, and didn’t improve much from there, shooting just 37.5 percent from the field in his six years with the Wolves.
His final two years in Minnesota featured marginal improvement when it came to shooting efficiency, although the distribution numbers faltered a bit as he transitioned from coach to coach. After spending his first three years with Rick Adelman as his head coach, Rubio played for three different coaches in the next three years, which surely had an effect on his overall production.
Rubio was traded to Utah in the summer of 2017 as head coach and front office boss Tom Thibodeau made room to sign veteran Jeff Teague in free agency, whom he had identified as a better fit next to the newly acquired Jimmy Butler on the perimeter.
Overall, Rubio’s longevity, consistent play, and status as second in both total points and assists in franchise history and popularity as a player are enough to get him to the No. 8 spot on this list.
- 10 seasons with Timberwolves (1989-92, 1995-2002)
- Averaged 9.5 points and 4 rebounds with Timberwolves
Sam Mitchell was a member of the inaugural Timberwolves team in 1989-90, and played 10 of his 13 seasons in the NBA as a member of the Wolves.
Mitchell was a 26-year-old rookie in 1989 after having spent his year since college playing in the Continental Basketball Association and overseas in Europe. But over his first stint with the Wolves, spanning three seasons from 1989 to 1992, Mitchell averaged 12.4 points and six rebounds, including a career-high 14.6 points per game in 1990-91.
Mitchell was traded to Indiana after the 1991-92 season, along with Pooh Richardson (No. 15 on this list) in exchange for Chuck Person and Michael Williams (No. 21).
But he came back, signing as a free agent in 1995 and spending the final seven seasons of his career in a Timberwolves uniform. He as mostly a bench piece, spot-starting occasionally and seeing his minutes drop steadily from the mid-20s per game to just 18.6 per game in 1999-2000, all the way to 9.8 per game in 2001-02, his last year in the NBA.
Mitchell is best known by Wolves fans for his longevity, as well as the mentor role that he played for Kevin Garnett throughout his formative years in the league. Garnett often cites Mitchell as a key figure in his development in the league, and in a strange twist, Mitchell had a chance to coach Garnett as interim head coach of the Wolves in 2015-16, Garnett’s last in the league and, tragically, because of the passing of Flip Saunders.
This case is one of longevity, reputation,a nd overall impact on the organization rather than peak. Was Al Jefferson’s (to pick one player at semi-random) peak greater than Mitchell’s? Yeah, of course. But he also only played three years in Minnesota, while Mitchell was a positive contributor over the course of 10 seasons, and played a large role in KG’s career.
And that’s enough for No. 7 in my book.
- Two seasons with Timberwolves (2003-05)
- Averaged 17.2 points and 6.4 assists with Timberwolves
- 1x All-Star with Timberwolves
Sam Cassell was the second-best player on the best Timberwolves team in franchise history, and on the back of that campaign alone managed to land the No. 6 spot on this list.
Cassell was acquired from Milwaukee during the summer of 2003 after the Bucks acquired Gary Payton to play point guard. The cost to acquire Cassell, along with Ervin Johnson, who became the Timberwolves’ starting center as they advanced all the way to the conference finals? Only Joe Smith (No. 17 on this list) and Anthony Peeler (No. 19).
As a 34-year-old, Cassell stepped up and made his first and only All-Star appearance, averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 assists. He shot a career-best 39.8 percent on 3-point attempts and drained 87.3 percent of his free throw attempts.
Cassell was magnificent throughout the season, but injured himself during the playoffs (and allegedly doing his ‘big balls’ dance after a big shot in Game 7 of the second-round win over Sacramento), which many think cost the Wolves a shot at the Finals, which would have featured a favorable matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
Cassell struggled through injuries again the following season, only appearing in 59 games in a season that saw the Timberwolves only win 44 games and miss the playoffs, with Flip Saunders getting his walking papers after a 25-26 start to the season.
Sam I Am was then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with a future first-round draft pick in an infamously lopsided trade that only netted the Wolves Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers, the latter of whom never suited up for the Wolves.
- One season with Timberwolves (2017-present)
- Averaging 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game
- 1x All-Star with Timberwolves
This is another example of a player that is extremely tough to rank on a list of the best 30 Timberwolves players of all-time.
In terms of where he stands in his career and what he’s done so far, he’s probably the second-best Wolf ever. But we only have one year of Jimmy Butler in a Timberwolves uniform, and in that season he was robbed of 23 regular season games and a healthy playoff appearance due to injury.
But even with an incomplete grade, Jimmy G. Buckets is more than worth of the No. 5 slot on this list.
Butler was the engine that made the Timberwolves go during the 2017-18 campaign, and while Karl-Anthony Towns was also an All-Star, the Wolves were only a truly dangerous playoff contender with Butler on the court — on both end of the floor, but particularly on defense.
Butler was again named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA Third Team, and was in the (admittedly early) MVP conversation around the holidays as the Wolves hung around the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves All-Star will turn 29 years old during the 2018-19 campaign, and he’ll have the season to prove his health. He only has one more year under contract in Minnesota and there are plenty of rumors flying about his future and whether or not his ideal scenario includes the Timberwolves.
He’ll surely receive a maximum contract next summer, but it’s important to remember that this a 29-year-old coming off a significant knee injury as well. That said, it’s clearly in the Timberwolves’ best interest to try to keep Butler.
Will they be able to do that? Stay tuned.
- 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.
- Three seasons with Timberwolves (2015-present)
- Averaging 21.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game
- 1x All-Star with Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns has only played three seasons in the NBA, but has steadily improved each year and has already earned himself the No. 3 spot in Timberwolves history.
Towns averaged 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds as a rookie. In his second season, Towns improved his numbers to 25.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Then, in 2017-18, Towns was named to his first All-Star team as he assisted Jimmy Butler in carrying the Wolves to their first playoff berth in 14 years by putting up 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game while shooting 42.1 percent on 3-point attempts.
The hot-button issue with Trump has always been his defense, and while there have been periods of time during which Towns is clearly locked in and has played solid team defense, but there have been some clear and consistent issues on that end of the floor for KAT.
But that said, Towns has been extremely dominant on offense and already has shown so much promise (being named an All-Star at age 22 is not insignificant) that there was no question he would be a top-3 Timberwolf.
Towns is the Timberwolves future — and it’s especially true if Butler leaves in free agency next summer. It’s up to him to ensure that his tenure with the Timberwolves doesn’t end up like soe of the other players on this list.
Towns has started all 246 possible regular season games for the Timberwolves over his first three seasons in the league. Between durability and offensive consistency and improvement, he’s already developed into a bona fide superstar.
- Six seasons with Timberwolves (2008-14)
- Averaged 19.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game
- 3x All-Star with Timberwolves
It says a lot about the history of the Timberwolves franchise when it took us until the No. 2 slot on the list of the top 30 Wolves players in history to find a multi-time All-Star.
Indeed, Kevin Love made the All-Star team three out of four years from 2010 to 2014, missing only 2012-13 due to injury. And other than the guy whose initials are KG, Love is second on the list of All-Stars donning Wolves unis.
After a slow start to his career, brought about by suppression from the Kurt Rambis-led coaching staff and Love’s own issues with staying in playing shape, Love took off. During the above-mentioned four-year span, Love averaged 23.5 points and 13.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Also, there was the 30-30 game, that helped put Love on the national map…
Love put the entire Timberwolves organization back on the national map as well, winning 40 games in 2013-14 alongside Ricky Rubio (No. 8 on this list), Nikola Pekovic, (No. 12), and Kevin Martin with Rick Adelman at the helm. Unfortunately, that was also Love’s last season in Minnesota as the toll of six straight losing seasons was enough to cause him to reportedly meet with front office boss Flip Saunders regarding a potential trade.
Love was sent to Cleveland as part of the larger trade that brought Andrew Wiggins (No. 18) to the Timberwolves in the summer of 2014, capping his Wolves career at six seasons.
- 14 seasons with Timberwolves (1995-2007, 2015-16)
- Averaged 19.8 points, 11 rebounds, 4.3 assists per game
- 10x All-Star with Timberwolves
In an unsurprising non-twist, Kevin Garnett holds down the top spot on yet another Timberwolves all-time list.
The Big Ticket tops almost every Timberwolves all-time franchise list. That includes points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, minutes, and games played. He was named to 10 All-Star teams over his 14 seasons, including 10 of his first 12 seasons in the league.
There was never any doubt that he was going to land No. 1 on this, as well as any other Timberwolves-centric list.
Garnett was drafted fifth in the 1995 NBA Draft and spent 12 seasons in Minnesota before being shipped to Boston prior to the 2007-08 campaign. After getting his title with the Celtics and playing a couple of seasons with the Nets, Flip Saunders brought Garnett back to Minnesota in what was each man’s second tour of ‘Sota.
Garnett finished the 2014-15 season with the Wolves and played 2015-16 under Sam Mitchell after Saunders’ tragic death and has not suited up since.
The most fond memories of Garnett all center around the franchise’s first-ever playoff appearance in 1997, as well as the first-ever series win in 2004, and the Game 7 win over Sacramento in the Western Conference Semifinals that same year. And don’t forget his NBA MVP award, which he won in 2003-04 as well.
During the present day, there is again a feud between Garnett and owner Glen Taylor. There still has not been a jersey retirement at Target Center, and Wolves fans are waiting expectantly.
Next: Top 15 draft picks in Minnesota Timberwolves history
But what Kevin Garnett has done for this franchise will almost surely never be paralleled. Unless and until the Timberwolves win the Larry O’Brien trophy, that is…