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1995–96 Minnesota Timberwolves season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

  • Bill Blair (fired)
  • Flip Saunders (interim) KLGT Midwest Sports Channel The 1995–96 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the seventh season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association. This season was most memorable when the Timberwolves received the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected power forward, and high school basketball star Kevin Garnett. The team also signed free agent All-Star guard Terry Porter, and re-signed former Timberwolves forward Sam Mitchell during the off-season.

The Timberwolves got off to a bad start by losing nine of their first ten games of the regular season, as head coach Bill Blair was fired after a 6–14 start, and was replaced with Flip Saunders, while Michael Williams was out for the remainder of the season due to a left heel injury after only just nine games. At mid-season, the team traded Christian Laettner and Sean Rooks to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Andrew Lang and Spud Webb, and re-acquired second-year guard Darrick Martin after a brief stint with the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies. After holding a 13–32 record at the All-Star break, the Timberwolves played .500 basketball by posting an 8–8 record in March. However, the team lost their final six games of the season, and finished in fifth place in the Midwest Division with a 26–56 record, missing the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

Isaiah Rider led the Timberwolves with 19.6 points per game and 102 three-point field goals, while Tom Gugliotta averaged 16.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, and Mitchell provided the team with 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. In addition, Garnett provided with 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Porter contributed 9.4 points and 5.5 assists per game, and Webb averaged 9.4 points and 5.9 assists per game in 26 games after the trade. Meanwhile, Lang averaged 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in 20 games, Martin provided with 7.3 points and 4.5 assists per game in 35 games, and Doug West contributed 6.4 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Garnett was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team; he also finished in sixth place in Rookie of the Year voting. The Timberwolves finished 26th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 585,669 at the Target Center during the regular season, which was the fourth-lowest in the league.

Following the season, Rider, who dealt with off-the-court troubles, was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, while Lang was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, Martin signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Webb was released to free agency.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1995 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
15Kevin GarnettSF/PF
248Mark DavisSG/SFTexas Tech
249Jerome AllenPGPennsylvania

Kevin Garnett

In Garnett's rookie season, the Timberwolves were in the midst of a transition phase; they replaced Bill Blair with Flip Saunders as head coach early in the season and made several trades. Garnett initially came off the bench in his rookie year, but moved into the starting lineup soon after Saunders became head coach.

In his rookie year, Garnett and fellow newcomer Tom Gugliotta carried the scoring load. Garnett did not immediately leap to stardom as later prep-to-pro prospects such as Amar'e Stoudemire, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard would, but he did have a very respectable rookie year. He averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game and was voted into the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Despite having some promising players, the Timberwolves suffered through their seventh consecutive sub-30 win season and failed to make the playoffs. At the time Garnett was the youngest NBA player in history at 19 years and 11 months of age.

Roster

  • Flip Saunders
  • Greg Ballard
  • Mike Schuler
  • Jerry Sichting
  • Randy Wittman

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Player statistics

Ragular season

PlayerPOSGPGSMPREBASTSTLBLKPTSMPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
PG**82**402,072212**452**891577325.32.65.51.1.29.4
SF80432,29350114586**131**83528.76.31.81.11.610.4
PF78**78****2,835****690**238**139**961,261**36.3****8.8**3.1**1.8**1.216.2
SF78422,14533974492684427.54.3.9.6.310.8
SG75682,5943092134823**1,470**34.64.12.8.6.3**19.6**
SG73161,639161119301746522.52.21.6.4.26.4
SF57057112547402218810.02.2.8.7.43.3
PF5303697981781317.01.5.2.3.22.5
†C49790220438192833118.44.2.8.4.66.8
†C44441,518302129404379234.56.92.9.91.018.0
SG41036225492151088.8.61.2.5.12.6
†PG35167474415626225421.31.34.5.7.17.3
†PG26216454015425524424.81.5**5.9**1.0.29.4
C25103107658169212.43.0.2.3.63.7
†C2018550121374117527.56.1.2.4**2.1**8.8
PG971892331535521.02.63.4.6.36.1
PG8039561064.9.6.8.1.0.8
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.

Awards and honors

  • Kevin Garnett, NBA All-Rookie Second Team

References

References

  1. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIN/1996.html 1995-96 Minnesota Timberwolves]
  2. Wise, Mike. (June 29, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; Underclassmen Rule Atop N.B.A. Draft Board". The New York Times.
  3. Heisler, Mark. (June 29, 1995). "NBA Is a Young Man's Game: Draft: Smith, McDyess, Stackhouse, Wallace and Garnett Lead the Way". Los Angeles Times.
  4. "1995 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.
  5. (October 15, 1995). "Timberwolves Sign Free Agent Porter". The Register-Guard.
  6. Smith, Sam. (October 15, 1995). "Rookies Provide Proviso Influence". Chicago Tribune.
  7. (October 17, 1995). "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; McHale Moves to Improve Timberwolves". The New York Times.
  8. (September 30, 1995). "NBA Locks Out Refs After Pledge Rejected". Los Angeles Times.
  9. (October 5, 1995). "NBA Off-Season Transactions". United Press International.
  10. (December 19, 1995). "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Minnesota Throws Coach to the Wolves". The New York Times.
  11. (December 19, 1995). "At 6-14, Timberwolves Fire Blair as Coach". Los Angeles Times.
  12. (December 19, 1995). "Another Year, Another Firing: Timberwolves Dump Blair". Chicago Tribune.
  13. (September 26, 1997). "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Williams Cleared". The New York Times.
  14. (December 12, 1997). "Timberwolves' Williams Finally Returns". United Press International.
  15. (February 22, 1996). "Laettner, Rooks Traded to Hawks". United Press International.
  16. Brown, Clifton. (February 23, 1996). "PRO BASKETBALL; On Deadline, Riley Makes Bold Moves". The New York Times.
  17. (February 23, 1996). "Hardaway Heads for the Heat in Trade". Los Angeles Times.
  18. Baker, Chris. (February 11, 1997). "He's Tiny, But His Presence Is Huge". Los Angeles Times.
  19. "NBA Games Played on February 8, 1996". Basketball-Reference.
  20. "1995–96 Minnesota Timberwolves Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
  21. "1995–96 Minnesota Timberwolves Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
  22. (February 10, 1996). "Pro Basketball". The Gainesville Sun.
  23. "1996 NBA Rising Stars: East 94, West 92". Basketball-Reference.
  24. (May 16, 1996). "Stoudamire Named Top Rookie After Lukewarm NBA Reception". Los Angeles Times.
  25. "1995–96 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
  26. "1995–96 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
  27. (July 24, 1996). "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Rider, Then Anderson, Join the Trail Blazers". The New York Times.
  28. (July 24, 1996). "Portland Gets Rider, Signs Anderson". Los Angeles Times.
  29. (July 24, 1996). "Rider, Anderson to Blazers". Tampa Bay Times.
  30. (July 11, 1996). "Bucks Acquire Andrew Lang from Timberwolves". Associated Press.
  31. Baker, Chris. (September 20, 1996). "Clippers Sign Former Bruin". Los Angeles Times.
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