1999–2000 Minnesota Timberwolves season

(lost to Trail Blazers 1–3)

The 1999–2000 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 11th season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association. The Timberwolves acquired the sixth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft from the New Jersey Nets via trade, and selected small forward Wally Szczerbiak out of Miami University, and also selected point guard William Avery out of Duke University with the 14th overall pick. For the season opener, the Timberwolves traveled overseas to Tokyo, Japan to play their first two games against the Sacramento Kings.

After a 7–5 start to the regular season, the Timberwolves struggled posting an 8-game losing streak in December. However, the team soon recovered as they won 20 of their next 25 games afterwards, and held a 27–20 record at the All-Star break. The Timberwolves enjoyed their first 50-win season, finishing in third place in the Midwest Division with a 50–32 record, and earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Kevin Garnett averaged 22.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Terrell Brandon averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Szczerbiak provided the team with 11.6 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and Malik Sealy contributed 11.3 points per game. Off the bench, Joe Smith provided with 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Anthony Peeler contributed 9.8 points per game, and second-year center Rasho Nesterovic averaged 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as the team's starting center.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Garnett was selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; Garnett scored 24 points along with 10 rebounds and 5 assists, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 137–126. Meanwhile, Szczerbiak was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team. Garnett finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, and also finished in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves faced off against the 3rd–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace, Scottie Pippen and Steve Smith. The Timberwolves lost the first two games to the Trail Blazers on the road at the Rose Garden Arena, but managed to win Game 3 at home, 94–87 at the Target Center. However, the Timberwolves lost Game 4 to the Trail Blazers at home, 85–77, as the team lost the series in four games; this was the fourth consecutive year that the Timberwolves lost in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. The Timberwolves finished 14th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 690,012 at the Target Center during the regular season. Following the season, Bobby Jackson signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings.

Tragedy struck on May 20, 2000, when Sealy died in a car accident, where he was killed by a drunk driver, who was on the wrong side of the road; Sealy, who was 30 years old, was just coming home from a birthday party for his teammate Garnett, who had just turned 24 years old the previous day on May 19. The driver involved in the crash, Souksangouane Phengsene, was sentenced to four years in prison. One notable highlight of the regular season included Sealy hitting a game winning three-pointer in a 101–100 home win against his former team, the Indiana Pacers at the Target Center on January 17, 2000.