Ranking the 15 worst Timberwolves starters of the Kevin Garnett Era
By Bret Stuter
VIII: C Ervin Johnson (2003-04)
GS 47 | 14.6 MPG | 1.9 PPG | 0.0 3P% | 3.5 RPG | 0.4 APG | 0.4 SPG | 0.7 BPG
Do not confuse former Minnesota Timberwolves center Ervin Johnson with his NBA predecessor, Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Earvin Johnson Jr. While the two names are very similar, the two players are not. Ervin Johnson is a 6-foot-11 245-pound center who was originally drafted by the Seattle Supersonics as the 23rd overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft.
Fast forward 11 seasons, and he was starting 47 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Johnson was already well past his peak but was a player added in a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks as the Timberwolves acquired Sam Cassell.
Johnson was more of a bridge player for the Timberwolves at the center position. He took over for a waning center Joe Smith and would be relieved the following season by center Michael Olowakandi.
Johnson, like all of the bigs to appear on this list, simply struggled to score. While he did up his game in the 2004 NBA Playoffs, his 2.7 points per game stand out as a glaring failure by the Timberwolves to build a competent roster around Kevin Garnett. Worst of all, this would be the last NBA Playoffs appearance of Kevin Garnett in a Minnesota Timberwolves uniform.
The Timberwolves would advance all the way to the Western Conference Championship series. If Ervin Johnson had been more effective, the Timberwolves may have won the NBA Championship for Garnett.