Have the Timberwolves ever won a championship? What is their best result in the NBA Playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the world by defeating the reigning champion Denver Nuggets on the road twice, and could be on the verge of history.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have gone from being the dark horses in the West to one of the favorites to win the title. The transformation from long shot to a near sure shot happened almost overnight after beating the Denver Nuggets in Ball Arena twice, and now this franchise could be on the verge of history.
Minnesota flirting with history
Minnesotta had been building a young, talented team over the last year, and after trading for Rudy Gobert two seasons ago, the project seems have come together. They fought for a one seed in the treacherous Western Conference all season, and ended up with the three seed heading into the playoffs finishing just a game behind the Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After getting the three seed, Minnesota was paired up with the Phoenix Suns who were supposed to be the new super team in the West. They made light work of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, running and gunning past the Suns in four games. Their first round sweep over Phoenix was just the second time in franchise history that the Wolves had advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Let’s remember, this is a young team, and a young franchise. The Timberwolves joined the NBA in the 1989/1990 season. They spent their first seven seasons in the league without a playoff appearance The first postseason appearance came in the 96/97 season but they got swept by the Rockets 3-0 in the first round.
Return trip to WCF in store?
They would turn into playoff regulars in the Kevin Garnett era, going to the postseason eight years in a row. It wasn’t until the eighth appears that the T’Wolves got through to the second round after a 4-1 win over the Denver Nuggets. They would beat the Sacramento Kings in a 7 game series to reach the Conference Finals, setting up a match up with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neale would take them down in a six games series to earn a spot in the 2004 Finals. That would be the last time the Timberwolves would make the playoffs until 2018, when they would suffer a first round elimination to the Rockets in 5 games.
The T’Wolves have made the postseason in the last three years, but got past the first round for only the second time in franchise history this season. They won the first two games of the Western Conference Semis in Denver on the defending champions home court. The Nuggets came back and won Game 3 in Minnesota, setting up a mouthwatering Game 4 at the Target Center.