1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the ninth season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Timberwolves acquired Stanley Roberts from the Los Angeles Clippers,^[2][3][4] and later on signed free agent Tom Hammonds in November.^[5][6] In October, All-Star forward Kevin Garnett signed a six-year contract extension with the Timberwolves, which was worth $126 million.^[7][8][9]

With the addition of Roberts, the Timberwolves won six of their first nine games of the regular season, but then lost nine of their next eleven games, falling below .500 in winning percentage. The team soon recovered posting a seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 26–20 record at the All-Star break.^[10] However, Tom Gugliotta suffered an ankle injury after 41 games, and was out for the remainder of the season,^[11][12][13] while Chris Carr, who became the team's starting shooting guard this season, also suffered a season-ending ankle injury after 51 games.^[14] At mid-season, the team traded long-time Timberwolves guard Doug West to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Anthony Peeler.^[15][16][17] The Timberwolves won seven of their final eight games of the season, and finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 45–37 record, earning the seventh seed in the Western Conference;^[18] it was their first winning record above .500, as the team qualified for their second NBA playoff appearance.^[1]

Gugliotta averaged 20.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Garnett averaged 18.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, and second-year star Stephon Marbury provided the team with 17.7 points, 8.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In addition, Peeler contributed 13.0 points, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 30 games after the trade, while Sam Mitchell provided with 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Carr contributed 9.9 points per game, and Terry Porter contributed 9.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. On the defensive side, Cherokee Parks averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while Roberts contributed 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and Hammonds provided with 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Garnett was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[20][21][22] Despite a stellar season, Marbury was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game.^[23][22] Garnett also finished tied in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[24]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Seattle SuperSonics, who were led by the All-Star trio of Gary Payton, Vin Baker and Detlef Schrempf. The Timberwolves lost Game 1 to the SuperSonics on the road, 108–83 at the KeyArena at Seattle Center,^[25] but managed to win Game 2 on the road, 98–93 to even the series; it was the first time in franchise history that the Timberwolves won an NBA playoff game.^[26][27][28] The Timberwolves won Game 3 over the SuperSonics at home, 98–90 at the Target Center to take a 2–1 series lead.^[29][30][31] However, the Timberwolves lost the next two games, which included a Game 5 loss to the SuperSonics at the KeyArena at Seattle Center, 97–84, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[32][33][34]

The Timberwolves finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 738,590 at the Target Center during the regular season.^[19][35] Following the season, Gugliotta signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns,^[36][37][38] while Porter signed with the Miami Heat,^[37][39][40] Roberts signed with the Houston Rockets,^[41] and Parks signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies.^[42] Meanwhile, the oft-injured Michael Williams, who returned to play for the Timberwolves for the first time in two years due to a left heel injury,^[43][44] was released to free agency.^[45]