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1996–97 Minnesota Timberwolves season

NBA professional basketball team season

KLGT-TV Midwest Sports Channel (lost to Rockets 0–3)

The 1996–97 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the eighth season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association. The Timberwolves received the fifth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Ray Allen from the University of Connecticut, but soon traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for rookie point guard, and top draft pick Stephon Marbury out of Georgia Tech University.

The team also acquired James Robinson from the Portland Trail Blazers, and second-year center Cherokee Parks from the Dallas Mavericks, while signing free agents, rookie center Dean Garrett, second-year guard Chris Carr, and Stojko Vrankovic during the off-season. However, Michael Williams would miss the entire regular season due to a strained plantar fascia in his left heel.

After a 7–8 start to the regular season, the Timberwolves lost nine of their next ten games, but then played around .500 in winning percentage as the season progressed, holding a 23–25 record at the All-Star break. The Timberwolves showed improvement by finishing in third place in the Midwest Division with a 40–42 record, which was below .500, but still good enough to earn the sixth seed in the Western Conference, as the team qualified for their first ever NBA playoff appearance.

Tom Gugliotta averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while second-year star Kevin Garnett showed improvement averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, and Marbury provided the team with 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game, and contributed 102 three-point field goals, playing in 67 games due to ankle and thigh injuries, as he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Sam Mitchell played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while Garrett provided with 8.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and Doug West contributed 7.8 points per game. Off the bench, Robinson contributed 8.3 points per game and 102 three-point field goals, while Terry Porter provided with 6.9 points and 3.6 assists per game, Carr contributed 6.1 points per game, and Vrankovic averaged 3.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, starting at center for half of the regular season.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Gugliotta and Garnett were both selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was Garnett's first ever All-Star appearance, and the first and only All-Star appearance for Gugliotta. Meanwhile, Marbury was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team, but did not participate due to a thigh injury, and Carr participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Gugliotta finished tied in 17th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Garnett finished in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, with Gugliotta finishing tied in ninth place; Marbury finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, and head coach Flip Saunders finished tied in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1997 NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves faced off against the 3rd–seeded Houston Rockets, who were led by the All-Star trio of Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler. The Timberwolves lost the first two games on the road at The Summit, then lost Game 3 to the Rockets at home, 125–120 at the Target Center, as the team lost the series in a three-game sweep; it was also Garnett's first ever NBA playoff appearance.

The Timberwolves finished 14th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 697,727 at the Target Center during the regular season. Following the season, Garrett signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets, while Robinson signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Vrankovic was traded to the Clippers.

For the season, the Timberwolves revealed a new primary logo of a gray wolf with pine trees, and changed their uniforms, adding dark blue and black to their color scheme of green and silver. The team's new primary logo, and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2008.

Draft picks

Main article: 1996 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Ray Allen	SG	United States	Connecticut

Roster

Flip Saunders
Greg Ballard
Mike Schuler
Jerry Sichting
Randy Wittman

Roster Notes

Power forward Bill Curley was on the injured reserve list rehabilitating from surgery on his right knee, and missed the entire regular season.
Point guard Michael Williams was on the injured reserve list due to a sore left heel injury, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

0–3

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	PG	82	20	1,568	176	295	54	11	568	19.1	2.1	3.6	.7	.1	6.9
	SF	82	5	2,044	326	79	51	20	766	24.9	4.0	1.0	.6	.2	9.3
	PF	81	81	3,131	702	335	130	89	1,672	38.7	8.7	4.1	1.6	1.1	20.6
	SF	77	77	2,995	618	236	105	163	1,309	38.9	8.0	3.1	1.4	2.1	17.0
	PF	76	0	961	195	34	41	48	252	12.6	2.6	.4	.5	.6	3.3
	PG	69	5	1,309	112	126	30	8	572	19.0	1.6	1.8	.4	.1	8.3
	SG	68	66	1,920	148	113	61	24	531	28.2	2.2	1.7	.9	.4	7.8
	C	68	47	1,665	495	38	40	95	542	24.5	7.3	.6	.6	1.4	8.0
	PG	67	64	2,324	184	522	67	19	1,057	34.7	2.7	7.8	1.0	.3	15.8
	SG	55	10	830	113	48	24	10	337	15.1	2.1	.9	.4	.2	6.1
	C	53	35	766	168	14	10	67	181	14.5	3.2	.3	.2	1.3	3.4
	PG	43	0	236	18	33	3	3	75	5.5	.4	.8	.1	.1	1.7
†	SG	10	0	31	4	1	2	0	20	3.1	.4	.1	.2	.0	2.0

† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.

Playoffs

POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
SF	3	3	125	28	11	4	3	52	41.7	9.3	3.7	1.3	1.0	17.3
PF	3	3	121	16	13	7	2	55	40.3	5.3	4.3	2.3	.7	18.3
C	3	3	118	35	4	2	3	38	39.3	11.7	1.3	.7	1.0	12.7
PG	3	3	117	12	23	2	0	64	39.0	4.0	7.7	.7	.0	21.3
SG	3	3	87	4	6	2	1	33	29.0	1.3	2.0	.7	.3	11.0
SF	3	0	47	7	1	1	1	17	15.7	2.3	.3	.3	.3	5.7
PG	3	0	46	3	9	2	2	16	15.3	1.0	3.0	.7	.7	5.3
PG	2	0	31	3	3	2	0	14	15.5	1.5	1.5	1.0	.0	7.0
PG	2	0	3	0	1	0	0	6	1.5	.0	.5	.0	.0	3.0
PF	1	0	11	5	0	1	0	4	11.0	5.0	.0	1.0	.0	4.0
SG	1	0	8	2	1	0	0	0	8.0	2.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0
C	1	0	6	1	0	0	0	0	6.0	1.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

Awards and records

Kevin Garnett, NBA All-Star
Tom Gugliotta, NBA All-Star
Stephon Marbury, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIN/1997.html 1996-97 Minnesota Timberwolves]
Brown, Clifton. (June 27, 1996). "PRO BASKETBALL; Big Trade and Some Twists in N.B.A. Youth Parade". The New York Times.
Heisler, Mark. (June 27, 1996). "The Surprises Are Few". Los Angeles Times.
"1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.
(July 24, 1996). "Portland Gets Rider, Signs Anderson". Los Angeles Times.
(July 24, 1996). "Rider Traded to Blazers for 2 Players". United Press International.
Storm, Rich. (June 30, 1996). "Mavs Deal Parks to Timberwolves". Chicago Tribune.
(June 30, 1996). "Mavs Trade Parks to T-Wolves". The Spokesman-Review.
Kurkjian, Tim. (November 10, 1997). "NO.5: Denver Nuggets".
Steele, David. (October 30, 1996). "WEDNESDAY SPECIAL -- NBA PREVIEW; 1996-97 NBA Team-by-Team". SFGate.
(September 26, 1997). "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Williams Cleared". The New York Times.
(December 12, 1997). "Timberwolves' Williams Finally Returns". United Press International.
"NBA Games Played on February 6, 1997". Basketball-Reference.
"1996–97 Minnesota Timberwolves Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
Bembry, Jerry. (November 28, 1996). "Marbury Step Slow in Move; Rookie: Only an Ankle Injury Is Stopping Minnesota's Stephon Marbury from Getting a Foot Up in the NBA". The Baltimore Sun.
(January 24, 1997). "Marbury Is Sidelined". The New York Times.
(February 13, 1997). "O'Neal Gets 12, Then Leaves with Injury". The New York Times.
"1996–97 Minnesota Timberwolves Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
Fry, Darrell. (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times.
(September 13, 2021). "1997 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
"1997 NBA All-Star Game: East 132, West 120". Basketball-Reference.
(February 6, 1997). "Stars Are Out for Ewing; Groin Injury K.O.'s Patrick". New York Daily News.
"1997 NBA Rising Stars: East 96, West 91". Basketball-Reference.
"NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference.
"1996–97 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
(May 2, 1997). "Iverson Is Voted Top Rookie". The New York Times.
(April 30, 1997). "Rockets Eliminate Wolves; Suns Take Lead Over Sonics". Chicago Tribune.
(April 30, 1997). "Houston Moves On; Orlando Stays Alive". Deseret News.
"1997 NBA Western Conference First Round: Timberwolves vs. Rockets". Basketball-Reference.
"1996–97 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
(September 6, 1997). "The Denver Nuggets Continued Their Massive Rebuilding...". Los Angeles Times.
Harding, Jim. (September 7, 1997). "Garrett Latest Addition to New-Look Nuggets". Chicago Tribune.
(August 17, 1997). "Clippers Sign James Robinson for $10.5 Million". Los Angeles Times.
Baker, Chris. (December 28, 1997). "Robinson Resuscitates Clippers". Los Angeles Times.
Gardner, Kris. (June 25, 1997). "ARCHIVE: Houston Roundball Review NBA Trade Analyses -- 1997 NBA Draft Day Deals". The Houston Roundball Review.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (June 26, 1997). "Draft Over, But Not Finished". Los Angeles Times.
"Minnesota Timberwolves Logo".
"Minnesota Timberwolves Uniform".
"Minnesota Timberwolves Uniform".
(March 17, 1998). "Injuries Threat to Ford's Job". The Spokesman-Review.
(March 19, 1998). "Spurs Tame T'Wolves 92-76". CBS News.

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