Marc Jackson: Minnesota Timberwolves were ‘a family’ in early 2000s

Former Minnesota Timberwolves center Marc Jackson spoke highly of his time with the franchise.

According to one former player, the early 2000’s Minnesota Timberwolves were ‘a family’ with a unified mission.

Former center Marc Jackson only played 99 games in a Wolves uniform over the course of two seasons, but he apparently enjoyed his time in the Twin Cities for a couple of key reasons.

Marc Jackson: Minnesota Timberwolves were ‘a family’ in early 2000s

Speaking on the Rejecting the Screen podcast recently, Jackson gushed about the Flip Saunders-led Wolves of 2001-02 and 2003-03.

In Jackson’s mind, the “family atmosphere” started from the top, with Kevin McHale in the front office but was especially promoted by Saunders, who was in the middle of his first run as head coach of the Timberwolves.

Jackson discussed the Wolves’ team dinners at which virtually everyone was present. He mentioned a few players by name, lauding the mix of young players and veterans. Himself, Kevin Garnett, Felipe Lopez, Loren Woods were listed as the young guns with Sam Mitchell and Terrell Brandon the veterans he mentioned.

Perhaps the most entertaining part of the conversation was a quote attributed to Wally Szczerbiak that was read by Adam Stanco, one of the hosts of Rejecting the Screen. In part, Szczerbiak reacted to the Wolves’ acquisition of Jackson by saying that the big man was “not built for a bunch of clowns like they have in Golden State”.

Not only is that an awesome quote from Wally World, Jackson laughed and didn’t exactly deny Szczerbiak’s sentiment on the podcast, making it clear that he didn’t exactly leave the Warriors on good terms with the front office.

One other thing of note from Jackson: a bit later in the podcast, he was asked about Garnett’s legendary trash-talking. He goes on to tell a story about KG’s propensity to talk in the third person while trash-talking, instead of taking a more conventional approach.

The whole thing is worth a listen; be sure to check it out in its entirety.

We’ll be back with plenty more Wolves news and analysis throughout the weekend. Enjoy the holiday!