IV: SG Doug West (1996-97)
GS 66 | 28.2 MPG | 7.8 PPG | 33.3 3P% | 2.2 RPG | 1.7 APG | 0.9 SPG | 0.4 BPG
The next player on this list is one of the few backcourt players to appear. Villanova’s 6-foot-6 200-pound shooting guard Doug West was a significant contributor to the Timberwolves roster in the past. But when he competed in the 1996-97 NBA season, age and the physical demands of professional basketball seemed to catch up and overtake him.
1996-97 was the eighth of nine NBA seasons that West would play for the Timberwolves. Unlike the season prior or years to follow, he was a fixture for the Timberwolves roster and started 66 games for the team. Despite so many starts, and with an average of 28.2 minutes per game, his offensive output plummeted.
Despite being a player with the fourth-most minutes per game, he fell to the seventh-best scorer on the team. Making matters worse, he was a defensive liability for the team.
He did step up for the Timberwolves in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, putting up an average of 11.0 points per game. He would even enhance his assists, averaging 2.0 assists per game as well.
The Timberwolves needed strong perimeter offense and defense to give proper spacing to allow Kevin Garnett to work his magic. In this season, Doug West would not supply much of either.