Taj Gibson was used mostly as a sixth man through his career but his arrival to Minnesota before the 2017/18 Season would see him secure the starting Power Forward role for the Timberwolves.  Playing two years with Minnesota before he signed with the Knicks, Gibson has had a pair of 10 Point per Game Seasons (12.2 & 10.8) with good rebounded tallies (6.9 per Game).  Gibson is not an elite player, but he does a lot of things well and doesn't lose you ballgames.  Arguably, he has been at his most efficient with Minnesota.

Arriving as part of a draft-day trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyus Jones came to Minnesota after being named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player and taking Duke the NCAA Championship in 2015.  Jones played his first four years of his NBA career with the T-Wolves, and while he has not seen good production numbers, he rarely turns the ball over and became above-average on the defensive side of the ball.  That would reflect on his advanced metrics.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #38, Pre-2020-21 Rank: #42, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #41, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #41, Pre-2023-24 Rank #41.

Peak Period: From 2012-13 to 2018-19.

It took 14 seasons before Mike Conley Jr. finally made his first All-Star Game. Frankly, it felt a bit like a lifetime achievement award, but it was one that so many of us were happy to see him obtain.  Conley does not have the stats, the elite period, or the rings to get into Springfield, but he is one of the most respected players of all time, as shown by his two Teammate of the Year Awards and four Sportsmanship Awards.  If there were a Hall of Fame of Class, Conley would be the first ballot. 

If Minnesota captures an NBA Championship in 2025, we won’t be alone in being happiest for Mike Conley Jr.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #36, Pre-2020-21 Rank #33, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #19, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #16, Pre-2023-24 Season Rank #18.

*Peak Period: 2017-18 to 2023-24.

Rudy Gobert’s Hall of Fame case needed last season’s success badly.

The Center was traded from Utah to Minnesota for a ransom of First-Round Picks, and his first season with the Timberwolves was not successful. This changed last season when he added his sixth First Team All-Defensive Selection and fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award, and when you log that many defensive accolades, the Hall will take notice.

More importantly, Minnesota reached the Western Conference Final last year.  If the team, now unquestionably led by Anthony Edwards, wins it all with a strong showing by Gobert, it won’t matter what they gave up to get Gobert.  That should make him the second Frenchman behind Tony Parker to enter the Hall, that is, unless a specific player named Victor Wembanyama overtakes him and Gobert stalls.

Viva la France!

This is a long process isn’t it?

As many of you are aware, we are in the process of working on another series of lists here at Notinhalloffame.com.  That is the Top 50 players of every major North American Franchise.  As such, we are proud to present our second team (all of which whose order has been chosen at random), the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Granted, we know that Minnesota has not been an overly successful franchise, but the process means that we have to do them all!

Clearly the number one choice is obvious, the recently retired Kevin Garnett, but the fun part is watching this list change with it being a young franchise.

We will give you the top five now for those of you interested:

1. Kevin Garnett

2. Kevin Love

3. Wally Szczerbiak

4. Terrell Brandon

5. Tom Gugliotta

Who are the rest?

You can find them here:

We will be unveiling another franchise from Minnesota, the Minnesota Vikings.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support!

How fitting that Troy Hudson put out an album called “Undrafted”.

At one point in time, Shabazz Muhammad was a top three prospect but that would not be the career he would have in the NBA.  Drafted 14th in 2013 by Utah and arriving on a draft day trade, Muhammad saw limited playing time for Minnesota as a rookie but he looked to be a star on the rise in his second pro year.  He played 38 Games before a hand injury forced him out and he would have a PER of 19.5 with a 13.5 Points per Game Average.  He averaged 10.5 Points per Game the year after but he regressed offensively and his defense was never good.  The T-Wolves would release him during the 2017/18 season.

After being drafted 7th overall by Boston, Randy Foye was traded twice before his first season, landing with an already loaded set of guards with the Timberwolves.  Foye managed to get minutes and enough to make the All-Rookie team and in his third and final year he netted over 16 PPG, his highest ever in the NBA.  His low ranking however comes for poor distribution numbers for a Guard.

Kevin Martin put up some decent offensive numbers (though nothing decent on the defensive side of the court) in his injury riddled time with the Minnesota.  Martin averaged 17.1 Points per Game, including a 20.0 PPG over his 2014/15 season, though that was only 39 Games.  Had he been healthier as a member of the Timberwolves, his ranking would certainly be significantly higher.

The Serbian Guard, Marko Jaric has had his best team success in the Italian League.  Jaric, which holds the distinction of being the first player to win the Italian League Championship consecutively with two different teams.  Jaric had his best results as a member of the Tomberwolves putting up his best career numbers.

While Tod Murphy was unquestionably a journeyman in the NBA, his longest “journey” was with the Minnesota Timberwolves.  The big man from California-Irvine had his best season in 1989-90 where he started 52 Games recording 6.1 Win Shares.

Oh boy.

Latrell Sprewell is known for a lot of things, but sadly his prowess on the basketball court comes behind three things.

Once known as the “Shaq of the MAC” from his days with the Ohio Bobcats, Gary Trent would spend his final three seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves.  No longer a starter, Trent was used in varying roles, mostly to create whatever matchup discrepancy he could, doing the little things that can not always be quantified on a stat sheet.

Known as the “Drunken Dribbler” (Seriously, is that not the best nickname ever?), Corey Brewer likely did not live up to the potential that he had as a former 7th pick overall due to a torn ACL.  The former NCAA Final Four Outstanding Player of the Year had two stints in Minnesota, most notably with a 13.0 PPG in the 2009/10 Season.

In all three of his seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Gomes averaged over 10 Points per Game, numbers that are productive for any Forward.  Gomes arrived to Minnesota via the blockbuster Kevin Garnett trade and did provide good two-way play for the T-Wolves, though realistically his time with Minnesota was certainly in the team’s down period and may not be remembered much, if at all.

A Shooting Guard who would win the Slam Dunk Championship as a member of the Timberwolves, Isaiah Rider was a dunking machine as the 5th overall pick in the draft. Rider would exceed over 20 Points per Game for the 1994/95 Season and a near 19 PPG as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dean Garrett won the NCAA championship with the Indiana Hoosiers and the year later was drafted late in the Second Round.  Garrett never played in the NBA for eight years as he instead played in Europe but it was with the Timberwolves where he would finally play professionally in North America.  The big man would have two runs with Minnesota, often in a starting role.  While Garrett was not a star, he did actually lead the NBA in lowest Turnover Percentage in his first season, a fact combined with decent blocking numbers that earned him a spot on this list.

In terms of advanced metrics, Craig Smith is better than you remember.  Smith may never have pulled off anything higher than 10.1 Points per Game in his career (which he did in his third and final season in Minnesota), but his PER was higher than many of the scorers who played for the T-Wolves, and he was always a solid defender.  Smith was a Second Team All Rookie for the team in 2006/07 season.

Known for his solid perimeter defense, Trenton Hassell played the meat of his professional career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.  While he played the role of “Shooting” Guard, he was mostly valued for his defensive matchups, though realistically he would have probably been better off being used off of the bench.

Without a doubt, the three seasons that Tony Campbell spent with the Minnesota Timberwolves were by far the most productive of his NBA career.  Joining the expansion Timberwolves from the loaded Los Angeles Lakers, Campbell became a starter and rattled off two consecutive seasons of 20 Points per Game, more than triple what he had before.  Following his run in Minnesota, he would be back on the bench, but he was one of the few highlights that T-Wolves had in the first two seasons, a fact that never be taken away from him.