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NBA: The Timberwolves are already the worst team in NBA history | NBA 2020

After a new losing season, the Minnesota Timberwolves already have to their credit the unpleasant distinction of having become the worst team in NBA history, after surpassing franchises such as the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets. .

While the Clippers of the controversial owner Donald Sterling left behind their losing team legacy ever since the billionaire bought them Steve Ballmer, the Kings came to occupy their position as the worst in NBA history, shared with the Hornets, until this season, the Timberwolves broke all negative marks.

Some might look at the Timberwolves’ record and say they had a similar run to the Kings in the early 2000s and even reached a Western Conference final in 2004, and power forward Kevin Garnett, a new member of the Hall of Fame, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

But the hiatus of the 2004 season, when they went 58-24, has not been enough to overcome the accumulation of errors with draft picks and player changes during the 30 years of their existence in the NBA.

The Timberwolves had another two seasons with 50 wins or more (2001-2002 and 2002-2003), but managed to win only two playoff rounds, both in 2004, and outside of the eight postseason appearances during the Garnett era of 1997. -2004, they have done it one more time, in 2018.

While they have managed to finish above 50 percent only eight times in their history.

Their losing mark of 1003-1545 has the worst percentage among the 30 NBA teams at 39.4%, while the number of victories leaves them in twenty-seventh place, beating the Pelicans (704), Memphis Grizzlies (864) and Toronto Raptors (982), but they all have better overall percentage and winning average.

The Timberwolves are also 18-34 all-time in the playoffs (34.6%), minus 2004 where they were 8-8, they are just 10-26 for a 27.7 winning percentage, which is equally the worst in NBA history.

The illegal signing of Joe Smith

One of the most famous events that has happened to the franchise, and probably the catalyst for it to be the worst in NBA history, was the illegal signing of the exala-pvot. Joe Smith that they made with secret agreements between both parties, that they violated the rules of the league and when the NBA found out, they canceled the contract.

The Timberwolves were also suspended and were left without first-round selection rights to go in free fall since then, which they accentuated with nonsense transfers and transfers. Garnett to the Boston Celtics and the pvot Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz, with hardly any compensation.

It was worse to select Ray Allen number five in the 1996 college drawing and sell his rights to the Milwaukee Bucks to host the point guard. Stephon Marbury, who barely lasted two seasons with them.

The Timberwolves used their rights to number five in the 2009 college drawing to win Ricky Rubio, compared to the legendary Pete Maravich. The El Masnou player has had a good NBA career, but has never been an All-Star and is, at best, the worst starter on an average playoff team.

After Rubio’s arrival, the Timberwolves let players like DeMarcus Cousins, Gordan Hayward, Paul George, Eric Bledsoe y Avery Bradley.

Although more devastating was seeing them let the escort pass Klay Thompson, the eaves Kawai Leonard, the Greek power-wing Giannis Antetokounmpo and to the French pvot Rudy Gobert, all of them All-Stars.

As has happened with the escort Zach LaVine and the eaves Jimmy Butler, which were part of trades and transfers made by the Timberwolves without receiving anything special.

It is still too early to know if the last selections are going to turn out well, the Dominican American power forward Karl Anthony Towns He appears to be Minnesota’s best player since Garnett.

If the incompetence in the university draw has been complete on the part of the Timberwolves managers, when it comes to developing talent they have not been very successful either and only Garnett, the American Spanish forward Wally Szczerbiak, the wing-pvot Kevin Love and Towns made it to the All-Star Game.

It is true that losing is as important a part of basketball as winning, but some teams do the former much more frequently than the latter, as is the case with the Timberwolves, which due to their own mistakes, in 2021, have become the new “losing kings” in NBA history.


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