Ranking the 15 worst Timberwolves starters of the Kevin Garnett Era

The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to hold power forward Kevin Garnett in homage as the greatest NBA player to have ever played for the Timberwolves over the life of the franchise. There is even an article that cites the 15 greatest moments of his career. And yet, he was never able to lead the team to the ultimate pinnacle of professional basketball, to an NBA Championship. Oh how he tried, but the team was never quite able to add the right pieces to the TImberwolves roster around him.

Kevin Garnett played for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1995 through 2007. That worked out to 14 seasons. Over the course of his career, he played 36,189 minutes for the Timberwolves and recorded 19,201 points, 10,718 rebounds, and 4,216 assists during the regular season. But what of his teammates? Who were the players who thwarted The Big Ticket from realizing his hope to win an NBA Championship for the Timberwolves?

To answer that question, we have to dive back in time to determine who exactly were the worst TImberwolves starters of the Kevin Garnett era. But to do that, we’ll need to focus on those players who started at least 20 games with Garnett. After all, no need to sift through the one-off players.  So who do we have?

XV: C Ervin Johnson (2004-05)

GS 23 | 8.9 MPG | 1.6 PPG | 100.0 3P% | 2.5 RPG | 0.1 APG | 0.2 SPG | 0.3 BPG

Despite the fact that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be led by Kevin Garnett again to a 44-38 record, the team would not make the 2005 NBA Playoffs. The Timberwolves’ streak of post-season competition would end at eight consecutive seasons, and the wheels would go into motion that would ultimately lead to one of the worst trades in Minnesota Timberwolves’ history.

The team struggled to find a complimentary center to pair with power forward Kevin Garnett, and Ervin Johnson (he will appear again on this list) was simply not a good fit. Despite appearing in 46 games and starting 23, Johnson never truly delivered what the Timberwolves were looking for.  Of course, to be fair, this was his 12th NBA season and his production was in serious decline. He did help the Wolves in the paint, and his 6-foot-11 245-pound presence near the basket was a formidable defensive presence.

He simply offered next to nothing on the offensive half of the basketball court. If not for the fact that he merely played 8.9 minutes per game, he would have ranked further along in this list.