1997-1998 Minnesota Timberwolves: Determination

July 6th, 2026
By Marneen Zahavi
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The late 1990’s saw the beginnings of two careers that would flourish in the NBA for at least a while. In the case of Stephon Marbury, he quickly became one of the most talked about point guards in the NBA. In the case of Kevin Garnett, he would quickly make his mark on the NBA as an effective power forward whose passion for the game rubbed off on his teammates. It was with the arrivals of these two players that quickly changed how the rest of the NBA viewed the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the 1997-1998 NBA season the Minnesota Timberwolves went 45-37, finishing 7^th in the Western Conference playoff standings and finishing 3^rd in the Midwest Division, 17 games behind the Utah Jazz. The Timberwolves went 26-16 at their home court the Target Center while only going 19-22 on the road. Minnesota went 14-10 in divisional play.

Kevin Garnett had 1,518 points with 786 rebounds, 348 assists, 139 steals and 150 blocks, making 635 of 1,293 field goal shots and making 245 of 332 free throws. Garnett averaged 18.5 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Stephon Marbury had 1,450 points with 704 assists and 104 steals, making 95 of 304 three point shots, 513 of 1,237 field goals and 329 of 577 free throws. Marbury averaged 17.7 points per game and 8.6 steals per game.

Small forward Sam Mitchell had 1,000 points with 385 rebounds, making 371 of 800 field goal shots ad 243 of 292 free throws. Point guard Terry Porter had 777 points with 271 assists. Power forward Tom Gugliotta had 823 points with 356 rebounds, making 319 of 635 field goal shots and 183 of 223 free throws. Gugliotta averaged 20.1 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Center Cherokee Parks had 558 points with 437 rebounds, making 224 of 449 field goal shots and 110 of 169 free throws. Parks averaged 5.5 rebounds per game. Shooting guard Chris Carr had 504 points and made 190 of 452 field goal shots, 40 of 127 three point shots and 84 of 99 free throws. Center Stanley Roberts had 457 points with 363 rebounds, making 191 of 386 field goal shots and 75 of 156 free throws.

The Timberwolves would often find themselves playing more than 4 quarters in regular season games as they would play 10 games that went into overtime. Of these 10 games the Timberwolves went 6-4. In the middle of all these overtime games the Timberwolves managed to go on an impressive 7-game winning streak which began on January 9, a 96-91 win over the Portland Trailblazers. This winning streak would end on January 21 with a 104-95 win over the Boston Celtics.

The most notable overtime game that tested the nerves and the stamina of the Minnesota Timberwolves would be their encounter with the Detroit Pistons at the Target Center on March 1. The Timbewolves outlasted the Pistons by a single basket, winning 115-113 in double overtime.

Detroit’s offensive charge was led by shooting guard and point guard Joe Dumars who had 28 points and made 11 of 20 field goal shots. Center and power forward Bison Dele had 22 points with 12 rebounds and 3 steals, making 10 of 17 shots. Small forward and shooting guard Grant Hill had 19 points and 9 assists. Minnesota countered with Stephon Marbury who had 26 points and 11 assists, making 3 of 6 three point shots. Kevin Garnett had 26 points with 12 rebounds and 7 assists, making 12 of 22 shots. Sam Mitchell had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Timberwolves were a worthy team to be in the playoffs, but after starting off strong they were not able to stop a series comeback from the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1^st Round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Sonics eliminated the Timberwolves 3 games to 2.

In Game 2 on April 26 at the KeyArena the Timberwolves defeated the Sonics 98-93. Stephon Marbury had 25 points with 4 rebounds and 7 assists, making 6 of 7 free throws. Terry Porter had 21 points with 12 rebounds and 7 assists, making 12 of 22 shots. Sam Mitchell had 18 points with 6 rebounds, making 6 of 11 shots. Kevin Garnett had 15 points with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks, making 7 of 14 shots. Shooting guard Anthony Peeler brought down 14 rebounds. For Seattle point guard Gary Payton had 32 points and 4 assists. Power forward Detlef Schrempf had 15 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Timberwolves took a 2 games to 1 series lead by winning Game 3 on April 28 at the Target Center by the score of 98-90. Seattle did have its stars show up for this game as Gary Payton had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while making 9 of 18 shots. Center and power forward Vin Baker had 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while making 8 of 13 shots. Detlef Schrempf had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Almost equal contributions in points were given by Minnesota players. Anthony Peeler had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Kevin Garnett showed a clear example of how much his determination had a positive effect on his team. His determination helped him get 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks while making 9 of 18 shots. Sam Mitchell had 19 points and 6 rebounds while making 7 of 12 shots. Terry Porter had 18 points and 3 rebounds while making 7 of 12 shots.

Making the playoffs in both 1997 and 1998, the Minnesota Timberwolves were figuring out their basketball identity and were starting to play together as a strong unit. This team chemistry would show flashes of improvement in the next few years.