Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t accomplished this feat in 17 years

The Minnesota Timberwolves results have not exactly warranted celebratory parades in the streets of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul so far in the 2022-23 NBA season. But there are reasons to be happy with the team. After all, it’s not all doom and gloom, not for a team that has fought all season to get to a .500 record with just two games remaining.

Truth be told, the Minnesota Timberwolves are assured of winning at least 40 games this season. That means that for two consecutive seasons, the Timberwolves will end with back-to-back 40+ win seasons.  And don’t look now, but that is a feat that this team has not accomplished for 17 seasons.

Curiously, the last time that the Minnesota Timberwolves ended with two consecutive 40+ win seasons was their 2003-04 season with a record of 58-24, followed by their 2004-05 season with a record of 44-38. Of course, the team was fueled by the indomitable play of power forward Kevin Garnett at the time.

The Timberwolves roster is not done yet

While there is no Kevin Garnett on the Timberwolves roster right now, the team is hopeful that a starting lineup of players that includes center Rudy Gobert, power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, small forward Jaden McDaniels, shooting guard Anthony Edwards, and point guard Mike Conley can gel quickly enough to carry the team into the NBA Playoffs this season.

To be fair, the return of Karl-Anthony Towns for six games since his return in a March 22, 2023 victory at Target Center has only allowed the team’s starting five to compete together on the same basketball court in five games.

But the Timberwolves roster is not done just yet. With two games remaining against the San Antonio Spurs (20-59) and the New Orleans Pelicans (40-39), the Timberwolves have the opportunity to win their final two games, leap over the Pelicans for the eighth seed, and still cling to a remote chance of jumping to the sixth seed and avoiding the NBA Play-In tournament altogether.

I won’t bore you with the math of that sixth seed scenario just yet. But a 42-40 record for the Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-23 NBA season is still on the table. All the Timberwolves can do is focus on winning right now. And as is often the case, the more the Timberwolves win, the better the odds of good things happening.