Shooting Guard
1. Isaiah Rider
2. Jimmy Butler
3. Tony Campbell
In what has historically been a thin position for the Timberwolvse franchise, Isaiah Rider edged out Jimmy Butler for the top spot in our ranking.
Rider played three seasons in Minnesota, averaging 18.8 points and shooting 35.9 percent on 3-point attempts. He was on the 1993-94 All-Rookie Team and averaged a career-high 20.4 points in the 1994-95 campaign.
Of course, Rider was best known on a national level for this:
Butler only played in 69 regular season games over two seasons, but he led the Wolves to their first playoff berth in 14 years and, in a vacuum, was the second-best player to ever suit-up for the franchise. However, the way he left the team, coupled with his short stint, clearly knocked him down a peg in our contributors’ minds as only made it onto half of our ballots — although those that included him ranked him highly.
Third place was technically a tie between Zach LaVine (also a dunk champion — twice, actually) and Andrew Wiggins, but Tony Campbell received enough votes between here and the small forward slot to put him in the top-three here. So that’s what we did with the member of the inaugural Wolves, who averaged 23.2 points per game for the 1989-90 Timberwolves.
Comments from our contributors
Jeff Thompson
It was difficult to include Butler on this list, but the lack of depth at this position gives him the nod. There is no denying his production on the team during his Timberwolves tenure but the off court issues and short term drop him down a spot.
The third spot here was a toss up between LaVine and Latrell Sprewell. Ultimately, LaVine got the nod for me due to his overall production as well as his dunk contest performances.
Jack Borman
Many want to see Butler in the top spot here, but I have no problem taking him off the list. The “it’s never my fault” poster boy played just 69 games in a Wolves uniform and, frankly, doesn’t deserve a spot here.
Wiggins is second in franchise history in scoring at 8,710 total points and delivered Timberwolves fans with many legendary moments in his five-plus seasons in Minnesota.