The Minnesota Timberwolves franchise has been far from the most successful. This season was their 35th in the NBA as their inaugural season was in 1989-90.
Minnesota has yet to experience an NBA Finals appearance. In 23 of their 35 years in the league, the Timberwolves did not taste playoff basketball.
As a matter of fact, in seven of their first eight seasons in the 2000s they reached the playoffs. However, Minnesota didn’t get past the first round the only year they advanced was in 2004 when they made the Western Conference Finals.
Now the Timberwolves are one win away from reaching the second round of the postseason for just the second time in franchise history.
When Was the Last Time the Timberwolves Won a Playoff Series?
One Win Away From Sweeping the Suns
Minnesota is the third seed in the Western Conference. Despite this, the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns were betting favorites over them to advance out of the first round prior to the series beginning. Phoenix features plenty of star power in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
While their work is not yet finished, the Timberwolves need just one more win to advance past Phoenix. On Friday, they defeated the Suns by the score of 126-109. Minnesota is now up 3-0 in the series and has outscored Phoenix by 54 points in the three outings. They will attempt to go for the sweep on Sunday.
Anthony Edwards has continued his ascent to superstardom. The first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has averaged 28.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.3 steals over the first three playoff outings.
Most 30-point playoff games, Minnesota history:
7 — Anthony Edwards
7 — Kevin GarnettAnt has played in 33 fewer games. pic.twitter.com/X0HEPA7WFf
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2024
Twenty Years Since the Last Timberwolves Series Win
The last time that the Timberwolves won a playoff series in 2004, Edwards was just two years old. Starting forward Jaden McDaniels wasn’t much older as he was three.
That 2003-04 Timberwolves team finished the regular season 58-24, still the best mark in franchise history. They dispatched the Denver Nuggets in five games during the opening round of the playoffs before defeating the Sacramento Kings in seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Minnesota in six games in the Western Conference Finals.
Minnesota was led by franchise icon Kevin Garnett. He was named the league’s MVP that season with averages of 24.2 points, a league-leading 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks.
They also had well-known veterans Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell on their club who were 33 and 34 years old respectively at the time. The two former All-Stars combined to average 36.6 points and 10.8 assists over the course of the regular season.
Shooting guard Trenton Hassell and center Ervin Johnson were the remaining two in their starting five. Minnesota utilized Wally Szczerbiak, a long-time starter, in a reserve role. Other key bench pieces in that playoff run were Fred Hoiberg, Michael Olowokandi, and Mark Madsen.
The head coach was Flip Saunders. With one more win, Chris Finch will join Saunders as the only head coach to win a playoff series for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
