Ranking top 15 Minnesota Timberwolves rookies of all time

6. Kevin Love (2008 – 2009)

The travels of Kevin Love over the course of his NBA career are nearly as fascinating as the career itself. Perhaps when the 6-foot-8 251-pound power forward finally calls it quits and retires, someone will be inspired to make a movie of his career.

Love was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, and was acquired by the Timberwolves on draft night.  In his rookie season, he started 37 games and was devastatingly effective at vacuuming in rebounds. But his perimeter shot was horrendous, hitting on just 10.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Stats: 81 games | 25.3 MPG | 11.1 PPG | 9.1 RPG | 1.0 APG | 0.6 BPG |, 45.9 FG percent

While Love was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and played six seasons for the Wolves, he never played a single postseason contest until he was swept up in one of the most surreal and unbelievable chapters in NBA history. You see, after signing with the Miami Heat, former Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James wanted to return to the Cavs. But he would only do so if the Cavaliers were able to assemble a competitive team around him.

As a result, a multiple-team trade resulted in Kevin Love being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Alex Shved, and Luc Mbah a Moute to the Philadelphia 76ers. In return, the Timberwolves acquired: Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins, and Thaddeus Young.

While the clear winners of that trade resulted in the Cavaliers winning an NBA Championship, the Timberwolves did manage to learn from the deal in ways to improve their roster going forward.