The Minnesota Timberwolves Continue Their Hunt For an NBA Championship
Do some sports teams’ names stump you? Oftentimes, we hear a team’s name over and over again, without knowing for certain, what it is. For instance, there is the Minnesota Timberwolves. We know that timber includes trees that produce wood for building houses and furniture. We know that wolves are wild mammals. Are Timberwolves wolves that live in forests?
Actually, a timberwolf is another name for the grey wolf. A distant relative of the domestic dog, timberwolves indeed live in forests. However, they also reside in other areas such as mountains, grasslands, and even urban regions. A “name the team” contest named the Minnesota Timberwolves as such, as the name defeated the other finalist, “Polars.” “Timberwolves” is quite appropriate, considering that more timberwolves live in Minnesota than in any of the other continental U.S. states. Here are some interesting wolf facts:
Wolves are the biggest wild canine
Wolves have 42 teeth
Wolves’ jaws can create up to 1,500 pounds-per-square-inch of pressure
Wolves do little chewing of food
Wolves’ liter sizes range from 4-7 pups
Two decades after professional basketball had left Minnesota, the state welcomed the Timberwolves as an expansion team. The Lakers and two ABA teams had formerly called Minnesota home. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves lost their franchise opener of the 1989-1990 season, to the Seattle Supersonics: 106-94. Unfortunately, the season’s final result was also unfavorable, with the Timberwolves earning a 22-60 record.
However, as time progressed, the Timberwolves grew from pups to full-grown canines. During the 2003-2004 season, they achieved their most success. Key players included Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Spreewell. At the end of the season, the Timberwolves had earned a 58-24 record (.707 winning percentage). This was the franchise’s top record ever, and the best Western Conference record that year.
In the playoffs, the Timberwolves pounced on the Denver Nuggets as if they were chicken nuggets, winning the series easily (4-1). The Timberwolves then outlasted the Sacramento Kings in the next round of the playoffs (4-3). Unfortunately, the Timberwolves then faced the mighty Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Lakers were simply too potent and too experienced in the playoffs. They defeated the Timberwolves relatively easily (4-2).
Unquestionably, Kevin Garnett has been the Timberwolves’ most significant player during the franchise’s short history. The Timberwolves picked Garnett as the fifth overall selection during the 1995 NBA Draft. Then in 2004, Garnett captured the MVP award of the NBA. Garnett was the first player in over two decades that an NBA team directly drafted from high school, into the NBA. In addition to leading the Timberwolves to the NBA Finals in 2004, Garnett won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics (2000), and won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics (2008).
The Minnesota Timberwolves have brought basketball back to Minnesota. Though they are a young team, they have advanced to within two games of the NBA Finals. Use Minnesota Timberwolves merchandise to cheer on the team as they hunt for their first NBA Championship!
Rick Grantham
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