This decade saw the Wolves make their first playoff appearance since 2004. There were some tough calls here at certain positions, but here is my All-Decade team for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Point Guards: Ricky Rubio, Jeff Teague, Luke Ridnour
Ricky Rubio is a given. I would argue that no one did more to rejuvenate the fan base than him. Not even Kevin Love or KAT. There aren't many better passers in the NBA than Ricky. He was drafted in 2009, but couldn't get out of his contract overseas and stayed there for two seasons. When he came over to Minnesota, the Wolves were coming off a 17-65 season. When he suited up for Minnesota, he was instantly a fan favorite. In his very first game, he scored six points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out six assists in 26 minutes, and the Wolves nearly beat one of the best teams in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Minnesota was primed to make its first playoff appearance in eight seasons, but Rubio tore his ACL colliding with the late, great Kobe Bryant, and the season fell apart. Minnesota won 40 games in 2013-14 with him as the lead man, the most wins in several seasons. He average more than 10 points a game and averaged 8.5 assists per contest. He also had more than two steals a game in four of his six seasons with the Wolves. Even more than his stats, he gave the Timberwolves hope. He lifted up a fan base that was starving for something to cheer about.
The guy who led the Wolves to their first playoff appearance in more than a decade was Jeff Teague, whom they signed in free agency. In his 2+ seasons in Minnesota, he averaged 13.4 points per game and 7.1 assists. He also had two and a half steals per contest. In the Wolves one win in the playoffs in game three against Houston, Teague scored 23 on 9-of-14 shooting in the 121-105 win. He also dished out eight assists. As the starting point guard on the playoff team, he deserved to be on the list and his tenure should be looked at fondly by Minnesota fans.
Luke Ridnour was a consistent player for the Wolves during the early part of the decade. Ridnour's three seasons in Minnesota were the best in his career. The former Oregon standout averaged 11.7 points and 4.6 assists per game in Minneapolis, shooting 45 percent from the floor. In his first season with the Wolves, Teague shot 44 percent from deep and he shot a respectable 36 percent during his tenure with Minnesota. One of his better moments was his game-winning floater to beat Utah in 2012. He was a solid player for the Wolves and earned a spot as one of the reserves on this All-Decade team.
Shooting Guards: Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine, Kevin Martin
Andrew Wiggins was one of the most polarizing players on the Timberwolves throughout his time there. He has all the talent in the world and headlined the trade that sent All-Star Kevin Love to Cleveland. In his five-plus years with Minnesota, he averaged 19.7 points per game, which ranks second in Wolves history. Andrew was a good player for the Wolves, but it never seemed like he reached his full potential in the Twin Cities. He was a scorer, but never averaged five rebounds or three assists in any full season in Minneapolis, and that bothered people. Wiggins helped lead the Wolves to a playoff appearance in 2017-18 and hit the clinching free throws to ice the playoff appearance in the regular season finale against Denver. Wiggins was a good player for the team and deserves to be the starter on this team. It will be interesting to see how he does in Golden State when he gets to play with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green next season.
The reserve shooting guard is also an easy choice. Zach LaVine was online with the Wolves for three years, but he made the most of it, improving his scoring each year and give the fans a show with his dunking ability. He also was a great shooter. In his final season in Minnesota, he averaged nearly 19 points per game. Not only did his scoring improve, but his shooting did too. After shooting 34 percent from deep as a rookie, he shot nearly 39 percent in his second and third years. In his final season with Minnesota, he shot nearly 46 percent overall. He was a budding star in Minnesota before being traded to Chicago in a package to acquire Jimmy Butler. LaVine is showing that he was on the verge of becoming a star, as he averaged 25.5 points per game this season for the Bulls.
The last shooting guard is one of the best free agent signings in Wolves history. I know, that isn't saying much. In his first two seasons in Minneapolis, he averaged at least 19 points per game. He brought much-needed long range shooting to a team in dire need of some. In his two full seasons with Minnesota, he shot at least 38 percent from deep. K-Mart helped the Wolves to 40 wins, which was the most number of wins by the franchise since 2005. They also hadn't had more than 31 wins in a season since 2006-07 prior to 2013-14. Martin was a big free agent signing and they had a nice season, despite the losing record.
Small Forwards: Jimmy Butler, Corey Brewer, Robert Covington
When Jimmy Butler was traded for, Minnesota fans were as pumped as ever for a season to begin. He helped lead the Wolves to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, and would have been a higher seed had Jimmy not gotten hurt and had to miss a few weeks. In his one full season with Minnesota, he averaged 22.2 points per game, the second most in his career. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. A lot will be made about how he left and the manner in which he left, but he still was a major factor in the season where the Wolves made the playoffs. Butler was only on the team for one full season, but he absolutely deserves to be starting on the Wolves All-Decade team.
Corey Brewer had multiple short stints with the Timberwolves throughout this decade. He was one of the most consistent things about the team in the early part of the decade. In a two-point win in 2014, Brewer scored a career-high 51 points, which was tied for the best mark in franchise history to that point. That season he averaged 12.3 points per game, which was second to his 13 in 2009-10. He was never a big scorer, but he did what he was capable of and did them well. Corey was the energizer bunny and he is needed on this team.
Like Jimmy Butler, Robert Covington was not in Minneapolis long. That is ironic consider Covington cane over in the deal from Philadelphia for Butler. He only played 70 games with the Wolves, but he proved he is a worthy player to have on this list. In addition to playing terrific defense, he averaged more than 13 points per game in his short stint in the North Star State. He averaged 1.9 steals per game, which is the most he has had with any team. Covington also averaged a block a game with the Wolves and had a respectable 35.4 percent shooting from 3-point land, which was one of the best on the team. Solid offense and great defense made him a really solid player for the Timberwolves and a prime candidate to be on this team.
Power Forwards: Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, Taj Gibson
Love is one of the slam dunks on this list, along with KAT, Wiggins and Rubio. When he was in Minnesota, he was one of the best power forwards in the NBA, and one of the best rebounders in recent memory. His passing ability reminded many people of Vlade Divac. With the Wolves, he was a three-time All-Star and averaged 19.2 points per game, including three seasons in which he averaged more than 20 points per. Of those seasons, he averaged at least 26 points per contest twice. Not only did he score, but he averaged more than 12 points per during his time with the Wolves. During the 2010-11 season, Love averaged more than 15 rebounds per game. During his time in Minnesota, he had a lengthy double-double streak and also had a 30-30 game in a win against New York. When Minnesota was a disaster in the early part of the decade, Kevin Love was a reason people actually paid attention to them. He is easily one of the best players in the history of the franchise and is without question the starter on this list.
He barely played with the Wolves in this decade, but he still deserves a spot on this list. He deserves to be considered one of the 5-6 players in Timberwolves history. He wasn't great, but very solid. In his three seasons with Minnesota, he averaged 20.1 points per game, including 17.1 per game in the season this past decade. He had at least 21/11 the previous two years in Minnesota, and while his numbers dipped a bit his final season in Minnesota, he still put up really solid numbers of 17 points and nine rebounds. Even though he was with the team in some rough years, he was a bright spot on them.
Like many others on this list, Taj Gibson only played with the team for a short time. In his two years with the Wolves, he was the junkyard dog. He manned the paint and was a solid mid-range shooter as well. When Minnesota made the playoffs in 2017-18, Taj averaged 12.2 points per game, the second best mark in his career. His 7.1 rebounds per game were also the best he has put up since his rookie season. He wasn't flashy and didn't put up big numbers, but I don't think Minnesota reaches the playoffs without his contributions. Gibson made one of the biggest plays in the game against Denver to get them into the playoffs. With just seconds to go in regulation and the score tied, he was 1-on-1 with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. The ball was passed to Jokic and he was rising for a shot and Taj slapped the ball away, forcing the turnover. Minnesota won in overtime. Even though he only played in the Twin Cities two seasons, his contributions cannot be overlooked and therefore, earned a spot on this All-Decade team.
Centers: Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng
This is another slam dunk (no pun intended). Not only is KAT the starting center on the All-Decade team, he is also my Minnesota Timberwolves Player of the Decade. Towns has been dominant inside and out ever since he came into the league in 2015. In his rookie season, he averaged 18 points per game, but has been over 20 ever season since. Just in his second season, KAT scored 25 points per game and grabbed more than 12 rebounds per contest. Every season in his career so far, he has averaged more than 10 boards per game. He made the All-Star game twice in his career, including 2017-18 when Minnesota made the playoffs. Towns followed that up with another All-Star appearance, as he averaged 24 points and a career-high 12.4 rebounds per. Before COVID hit, Towns was on pace for a career year in the scoring department, averaging 26.5 per. In his career, he has averaged 22.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per contest. He is a well-deserving choice of being named the Wolves Player of the Decade.
Nikola Pekovic was a fierce player, very intimidating on the court. Pek was drafted with the first pick in the second round of the 2008 draft. He had lottery potential, but his deal overseas made him a shoo-in for the top pick of the second round. One of the better centers in the history of the franchise, Pek averaged double figures in points four years in a row before his career derailed due to injuries. His best season came in 2013-14 when he averaged a career-best 17.5 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per, which was nearly a career high. Pek also shot 54 percent. Unfortunately, injuries caught up with him. The highest number of games he played in a season was 65, which was his rookie season in which he did not play a ton. He only played in at least 60 games twice in his six-year career, which was really disappointing because he could have been one of the better centers in the NBA if he didn't have the injury problems. But his six years in Minnesota were very good and he is absolutely worth being on the All-Decade team.
Rounding out the All-Decade team is Gorgui Dieng, who came in a draft day trade along with Shabazz Muhammad for Trey Burke. Like a few on this list, Dieng was never a superstar, but he was a solid role player and he knew his role well. He spent his first 6+ seasons with Minnesota and he was a solid player on the court and terrific off of it. For his Wolves career, he averaged eight points and six board per game, coming off the bench. His best years came from 2014-17 when he averaged 10 points and nearly eight rebounds. In 2016-17, he also had 3-point range, connecting on 37 percent of his triple attempts in addition to being an already deadly mid-range shooter. In those three years, he showed his defensive ability too, averaging more than one block and steal per game. As the No. 3 center, he deserves he recognition on this All-Decade team.
Head Coach of the Decade: Tom Thibodeau
Player of the Decade: Karl-Anthony Towns
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