1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season

1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coach	Flip Saunders
Owner(s)	Glen Taylor
Arena	Target Center
Results
Record	45–37 (.549)
Place	Division: 3rd (Midwest) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	West First Round (eliminated 2-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KLGT-TV, Midwest Sports Channel

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 9th season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the offseason, the Timberwolves acquired Stanley Roberts from the Los Angeles Clippers, and signed free agent Tom Hammonds. Kevin Garnett and second-year star Stephon Marbury both continued to establish themselves as two of the brightest stars in the NBA, as Garnett averaged 18.5 points, 9.6 rebounds per game and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. Marbury averaged 17.7 points and 8.6 assists per game. At midseason, the Timberwolves traded Doug West to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Anthony Peeler.

Despite losing Tom Gugliotta for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury after 41 games, the Timberwolves won seven of their final eight games posting their first winning record at 45–37. Third in the Midwest Division making their second consecutive playoff appearance. In the first round of the playoffs, the Timberwolves took a 2–1 series lead over the 2nd-seeded Seattle SuperSonics, but went on to lose the series in five games.^[2] Following the season, Terry Porter signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, Roberts signed with the Houston Rockets, Cherokee Parks signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies, and Michael Williams was released.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	20	Paul Grant	C	United States	Wisconsin
2	43	Gordon Malone		United States	West Virginia

Roster

Minnesota Timberwolves roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)
2.0 !SG	43	USA !	Carr, Chris	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Southern Illinois
4.5 !PF	17	USA !	Curley, Bill	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Boston College
3.0 !SF	21	USA !	Garnett, Kevin	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Farragut Academy (HS)
6.0 !C	40	USA !	Grant, Paul (IN)	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Wisconsin
4.5 !PF	24	USA !	Gugliotta, Tom	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	North Carolina State
4.5 !PF	20	USA !	Hammonds, Tom	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Georgia Tech
2.0 !SG	31	USA !	Jordan, Reggie	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	New Mexico State
1.0 !PG	3	USA !	Marbury, Stephon	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Georgia Tech
3.0 !SF	42	USA !	Mitchell, Sam	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Mercer
6.0 !C	44	USA !	Parks, Cherokee	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Duke
2.0 !SG	1	USA !	Peeler, Anthony	7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Missouri
1.0 !PG	30	USA !	Porter, Terry	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Wisconsin-Stevens Point
6.0 !C	53	USA !	Roberts, Stanley	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	LSU
1.0 !PG	6	USA !	Wheat, DeJuan	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Louisville
1.0 !PG	4	USA !	Williams, Micheal	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Baylor

Head coach

Flip Saunders (Minnesota)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

Rookie center Paul Grant missed the entire season due to a foot injury.

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Reserve	Inactive
C	Cherokee Parks	Stanley Roberts		Paul Grant
PF	Kevin Garnett	Tom Hammonds	Bill Curley	Tom Gugliotta
SF	Sam Mitchell
SG	Anthony Peeler		Reggie Jordan	Chris Carr
PG	Stephon Marbury	Terry Porter	DeJuan Wheat Micheal Williams

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–	36–5	26–15	22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17	26–15	19–22	14–10
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21	24–17	17–24	14–10
Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42	13–28	7–34	9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43	14–27	5–36	4–20
Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51	9–32	2–39	3–21

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21

9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
Boston	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
Charlotte	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Chicago	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
Dallas	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Miami	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Milwaukee	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
Orlando	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Toronto	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (7) Minnesota Timberwolves Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the SuperSonics and Timberwolves.

Game	Date	Home	Score	Visitor	Score	Record (SEA-MIN)	Venue	Box score	Television
1	April 24	Seattle	108	Minnesota	83	1-0	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	1	TBS 9:30et
2	April 26	Seattle	93	Minnesota	98	1-1	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	2	TNT 9:00et
3	April 28	Minnesota	98	Seattle	90	1-2	Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota	3	TBS 9:30et
4	April 30	Minnesota	88	Seattle	92	2-2	Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota	4	TBS 9:30et
5	May 2	Seattle	97	Minnesota	84	3-2	KeyArena, Seattle, Washington	5	NBC 3:30et
Seattle wins series 3–2

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Carr, Chris !Chris Carr	51	40	22.8	.420	.315	.848	3.0	1.7	.3	.2	9.9
Curley, Bill !Bill Curley	11	1	13.3	.485	.000	.667	2.5	.4	.3	.1	3.1
Garnett, Kevin !Kevin Garnett	82	82	39.3	.491	.188	.738	9.6	4.2	1.7	1.8	18.5
Gugliotta, Tom !Tom Gugliotta	41	41	38.6	.502	.118	.821	8.7	4.1	1.5	.5	20.1
Hammonds, Tom !Tom Hammonds	57	2	20.0	.516	.000	.697	4.8	.6	.3	.3	6.1
Jordan, Reggie !Reggie Jordan	57	1	8.5	.478	.000	.569	1.7	.9	.6	.2	2.6
Marbury, Stephon !Stephon Marbury	82	81	38.0	.415	.313	.731	2.8	8.6	1.3	.1	17.7
Mitchell, Sam !Sam Mitchell	81	33	27.6	.464	.349	.832	4.8	1.3	.8	.3	12.3
Parks, Cherokee !Cherokee Parks	79	43	21.6	.499	.000	.651	5.5	.7	.5	1.1	7.1
Peeler, Anthony !Anthony Peeler	30	24	33.0	.445	.453	.780	3.4	3.8	1.7	.2	13.0
Porter, Terry !Terry Porter	82	8	21.8	.449	.395	.856	2.0	3.3	.8	.2	9.5
Roberts, Stanley !Stanley Roberts	74	44	17.9	.495	.	.481	4.9	.4	.3	1.0	6.2
Rozier, Clifford !Clifford Rozier	6	0	5.0	.500	.	.000	1.0	.0	.0	.0	1.0
West, Doug !Doug West	38	10	18.1	.374	.000	.725	2.2	1.2	.3	.1	4.1
Wheat, DeJuan !DeJuan Wheat	34	0	4.4	.400	.471	.600	.3	.7	.2	.0	1.7
Williams, Micheal !Micheal Williams	25	0	6.4	.333	.000	.970	.6	1.3	.4	.1	2.6

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Curley, Bill !Bill Curley	2	0	3.5	.	.	.	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Garnett, Kevin !Kevin Garnett	5	5	38.8	.480	.	.778	9.6	4.0	.8	2.4	15.8
Hammonds, Tom !Tom Hammonds	5	1	22.6	.429	.	.750	4.4	.4	.0	.2	7.2
Jordan, Reggie !Reggie Jordan	2	0	14.5	.625	1.000	.500	4.5	1.5	.5	.0	6.0
Marbury, Stephon !Stephon Marbury	5	5	41.8	.306	.280	.783	3.2	7.6	2.4	.0	13.8
Mitchell, Sam !Sam Mitchell	5	5	35.4	.448	.214	.895	5.4	1.6	.2	.2	14.4
Parks, Cherokee !Cherokee Parks	1	0	1.0	.	.	.	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Peeler, Anthony !Anthony Peeler	5	5	42.6	.403	.484	1.000	7.6	3.6	2.0	.6	16.2
Porter, Terry !Terry Porter	5	4	37.6	.429	.400	.833	5.0	3.2	1.0	.0	15.8
Roberts, Stanley !Stanley Roberts	1	0	8.0	.000	.	.500	2.0	.0	.0	.0	1.0
Wheat, DeJuan !DeJuan Wheat	1	0	3.0	.500	.	.	1.0	.0	1.0	.0	2.0
Williams, Micheal !Micheal Williams	4	0	14.5	.400	.500	.778	2.3	2.8	.8	.3	5.0

References

↑ 1997-98 Minnesota Timberwolves
↑ "THE N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Sonics Advance After Submerging the Spunky Timberwolves". New York Times. May 3, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2017.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Founded in 1989 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise Expansion draft All-time roster Seasons Accomplishments and records Broadcasters Draft history Head coaches Current season
Arenas	Metrodome Target Center
General managers	McKinney McCloskey Saunders McHale Kahn Saunders Newton Layden
G League affiliate	Iowa Wolves
Administration	Owner Glen Taylor General Manager Scott Layden President of Basketball Operations Tom Thibodeau Head Coach Tom Thibodeau
Division championships (1)	2004
Culture and lore	Crunch the Wolf Failed move to New Orleans Joe Somebody Mayo Clinic Square
Retired numbers	2

1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

Depth chart

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

West First Round

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

References

See also