The Minnesota Timberwolves were founded in 1989 as an NBA expansion team.¹⁾

The name “Timberwolves” was chosen from over 6,000 entries in a name-the-team contest.²⁾

Minnesota was chosen because wolves are native to the state, and the name reflects the region’s wildlife.³⁾

The Wolves played their first-ever NBA game on November 3, 1989, against the Seattle SuperSonics.⁴⁾

Their original home arena was the Metrodome, shared with the Minnesota Twins and Vikings.⁵⁾

In 1990, they moved into the Target Center, which remains their home arena today.⁶⁾

The Wolves landed the first overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, selecting Kevin Garnett directly from high school.⁷⁾

Kevin Garnett became the face of the franchise, playing 12 seasons in his first stint with the team.⁸⁾

Garnett won the NBA MVP award in 2004, the only Timberwolf to do so.⁹⁾

The Wolves made their first playoff appearance in 1997, ending an eight-year wait.¹⁰⁾

In the 2003–04 season, they had their best record (58–24) and reached the Western Conference Finals.¹¹⁾

The Wolves were knocked out of the playoffs three straight years (1997–1999) by the Utah Jazz.¹²⁾

Referee Tim Donaghy later claimed Game 6 of the 2004 Western Finals was rigged—a major NBA scandal.¹³⁾

In 2007, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, ending an era.¹⁴⁾

Garnett returned to the Wolves in 2015 for a brief second stint before retiring.¹⁵⁾