Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-23 Season at Target Center
As the Minnesota Timberwolves play their fourth decade at Target Center, the arena is much-changed from the building that first hosted the young franchise in 1990. The Target Center has undergone three significant renovations over the years -- the last round of upgrades were unveiled at the outset of the 2017-18 season, with a made-over exterior and a three-story atrium over a new entrance, home to the iconic statue of George Mikan.
Minnesota Timberwolves Team Info
Conference: Western
Division: Northwest
Year Founded: 1989
Team Colors: Midnight Blue, Aurora Green, Lake Blue, Moonlight Grey, Frost White
Minnesota Timberwolves History
The Timberwolves joined the NBA in the 1989 expansion that also brought the Orlando Magic into the league. The T-Wolves struggled mightily during their first seven seasons, but the arrivals of first-round draft pick Kevin Garnett, general manager Kevin McHale and head coach Flip Saunders signaled a turnaround. The franchise earned its first playoff berth in the 1996-97 season (the first of eight straight years in the postseason) and its first winning record a year later.
In the 1999-00 season, led by Garnett and rookie Wally Szczerbiak, the Timberwolves posted their first 50-win season, the first of three straight years they reached that milestone. But it was not until the last year in that streak that they advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
With guards Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell joining the Timberwolves for the 2003-04 season, the team won its first division title and first two postseason series, eliminating the Denver Nuggets and the Sacramento Kings. They ultimately fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.
After Garnett was traded away in 2007, the team rebuilt around all-star Kevin Love, but failed to make the playoffs during his tenure with the T-Wolves. They ended a 13-year drought without a playoff appearance by finishing 47-35 in the 2017-18 season, good for second place in the Northwest Division.
