2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season

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2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Division Champions
Head coach Flip Saunders
General manager Kevin McHale
Owner(s) Glen Taylor
Arena Target Center
Results
Record 58–24 (.707)
Place Division: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish West Conference Finals (2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television Fox Sports North
Radio KFAN
< 2002–03 2004–05 >

The 2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 15th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). With a Western Conference-best 58–24 finish, the Wolves set the franchise record for wins, and won its first and only division championship. Power forward Kevin Garnett averaged 24.2 points, a league-high 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocks per game, winning the regular season Most Valuable Player Award.

After defeating the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, the Wolves were pushed to the limit in the semifinals by the Sacramento Kings, who they narrowly defeated in a deciding seventh game. In the Western Conference Finals, they faced a Los Angeles Lakers team featuring Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone, who defeated them in six games.[1] As of 2016, the Timberwolves have not made it back to the playoffs.

The season is memorable, acquiring 4-time All-Star but controversial guard Latrell Sprewell, who was known his choking incident with then-Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo and helping the 8th seeded New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999 and Sam Cassell, who was known for winning two championships with the Houston Rockets and his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he helped guide the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001, to join Garnett, forming a "Big 3". Garnett, Cassell, and coach Saunders represented the Western Conference in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. The 2004 All-Star game was Cassell's only All-Star appearance in his career.

The team's season roster is featured in the video game NBA 2K16.[2]

Offseason

NBA Draft

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Main article: 2003 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 26 Ndudi Ebi Forward  Nigeria
2 55 Rick Rickert Forward  United States Minnesota

Roster

Minnesota Timberwolves roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From
G 19 United States Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969-11-18 Florida State
F 44 Nigeria Ebi, Ndudi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1984-06-18 Westbury Christian (HS)
F/C 21 United States Garnett, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1976-05-19 Farragut Academy (HS)
G/F 23 United States Hassell, Trenton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1979-03-04 Austin Peay State
G 32 United States Hoiberg, Fred 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1972-10-15 Iowa State
G 16 United States Hudson, Troy Injured 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1976-03-13 Southern Illinois
C 40 United States Johnson, Ervin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967-12-21 New Orleans
F 35 United States Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1976-01-28 Stanford
G 15 United States Martin, Darrick 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971-03-06 UCLA
C 3 United States Miller, Oliver 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1970-04-06 Arkansas
C 34 Nigeria Olowokandi, Michael 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 269 lb (122 kg) 1975-04-03 Pacific
G/F 8 United States Sprewell, Latrell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970-09-08 Alabama
F 10 United States Szczerbiak, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1977-03-05 Miami (OH)
F 20 United States Trent, Gary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1974-09-22 Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Standings

Midwest Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Minnesota Timberwolves 58 24 .707 – 31–10 27–14 14–10
x-San Antonio Spurs 57 25 .695 1 33–8 24–17 15–9
x-Dallas Mavericks 52 30 .634 6 36–5 16–25 14–10
x-Memphis Grizzlies 50 32 .610 8 31–10 19–22 12–12
x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13 27–14 18–23 8–16
x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 15 29–12 14–27 11–13
Utah Jazz 42 40 .512 16 28–13 14–27 10–14
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Minnesota Timberwolves 58 24 .707 –
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 2
3 x-San Antonio Spurs 57 25 .695 1
4 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 3
5 x-Dallas Mavericks 52 30 .634 6
6 x-Memphis Grizzlies 50 32 .610 8
7 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13
8 x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 15
9 Utah Jazz 42 40 .512 16
10 Portland Trail Blazers 41 41 .500 17
11 Seattle SuperSonics 37 45 .451 21
12 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 21
13 Phoenix Suns 29 53 .354 29
14 Los Angeles Clippers 28 54 .341 30


Playoffs

Game log

2004 playoff game log
First round: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
Conference Finals: 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3)
2004 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

Week/Month

  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 16 through November 22.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 14 through December 20.
  • Sam Cassell was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 21 through December 27.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played January 18 through January 24.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played January 25 through January 31.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Month for December.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Month for January.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Month for February.
  • Kevin Garnett was named Western Conference Player of the Month for April.
  • Flip Saunders was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for April.

All-Star

  • Kevin Garnett was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his seventh consecutive All-Star selection. Garnett finished first among Western Conference players in voting with 1,780,918 votes.
  • Sam Cassell was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first and only All-Star selection.
  • Flip Saunders coached the Western Conference to a 136–132 victory over the Eastern Conference.

Season

Injuries/Missed games

  • 10/27/03: Troy Hudson: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until December 20
  • 10/29/03: Wally Szczerbiak: Inflamed arch in foot; placed on injured reserve until February 19
  • 11/22/03: Michael Olowokandi: Knee tendinitis; out until November 28
  • 11/26/03: Mark Madsen: Back spasms; out until December 9
  • 12/05/03: Michael Olowokandi: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until February 20
  • 12/12/03: Mark Madsen: Back spasms; out until December 20
  • 12/20/03: Ervin Johnson: Personal reasons; did not play
  • 12/26/03: Troy Hudson: Sprained ankle; out until January 19
  • 01/10/04: Gary Trent: Sprained ankle; out until January 19
  • 01/23/04: Ervin Johnson: Personal reasons; did not play
  • 01/25/04: Ervin Johnson: Personal reasons; did not play
  • 02/01/04: Troy Hudson: Sprained ankle; out until February 17
  • 02/19/04: Ndudi Ebi: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list for rest of season
  • 02/25/04: Sam Cassell: Ankle tendinitis; did not play
  • 02/27/04: Wally Szczerbiak: Flu; did not play
  • 03/21/04: Troy Hudson: Sore ankle; did not play
  • 03/23/04: Troy Hudson: Sore ankle; did not play
  • 03/31/04: Troy Hudson: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list for rest of season
  • 04/27/04: Wally Szczerbiak: Cracked vertebrae; out until May 14
  • 05/29/04: Sam Cassell: Back spasms; did not play
  • 05/31/04: Sam Cassell: Back spasms; did not play

[3]

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

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Sam Cassell 81 81 35.0 .488 .398 .873^ 3.3 7.3 1.3 .2 19.8
Ndudi Ebi 17 0 1.9 .429 . .250 0.2 0.2 .0 .2 0.8
Kevin Garnett 82 82 39.4 .499 .256 .791 13.9 5.0 1.5 2.2 24.2
Anthony Goldwire* 5 0 13.2 .357 .333 1.000^ 1.2 2.0 .6 .0 2.6
Trenton Hassell 81 74 28.0 .465 .308 .787 3.2 1.6 .4 .7 5.0
Fred Hoiberg 79 3 22.8 .465 .442 .845 3.4 1.4 .8 .1 6.7
Troy Hudson 29 1 17.3 .386 .403 .818 1.2 2.4 .2 .0 7.5
Ervin Johnson 66 47 14.6 .534 .000 .607 3.5 0.4 .4 .7 1.9
Quincy Lewis 14 0 4.6 .350 .400 . 0.5 0.1 .1 .1 1.1
Mark Madsen 72 12 17.3 .495 .000 .483 3.8 0.4 .5 .3 3.6
Darrick Martin 16 0 10.8 .299 .231 1.000^ 0.4 1.4 .1 .1 3.4
Keith McLeod 33 0 11.8 .329 .100 .767 1.0 1.8 .5 .0 2.7
Oliver Miller 48 1 10.5 .530 .000 .652 2.7 0.8 .4 .5 2.5
Michael Olowokandi 43 25 21.5 .425 . .590 5.7 0.6 .4 1.6 6.5
Latrell Sprewell 82 82 37.8 .409 .331 .814 3.8 3.5 1.1 .3 16.8
Wally Szczerbiak 28 0 22.2 .449 .435 .828 3.1 1.2 .4 .0 10.2
Gary Trent 68 2 15.1 .473 .000 .758 3.2 0.7 .2 .3 5.6

* - Stats with the Timberwolves.
^ - Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Sam Cassell 16 15 31.1 .465 .417 .852 2.5 4.4 .8 .2 16.6
Kevin Garnett 18 18 43.5 .452 .313 .776 14.6 5.1 1.3 2.3 24.3
Trenton Hassell 18 18 26.2 .521† .500^ .813 2.4 1.5 .6 .4 7.7
Fred Hoiberg 18 0 24.3 .453 .458^ .938 3.7 1.3 .9 .0 6.4
Ervin Johnson 18 16 19.8 .500 . .625 4.7 0.7 .6 .6 2.7
Mark Madsen 17 0 13.1 .531† . .448 3.4 0.1 .3 .2 2.8
Darrick Martin 16 3 11.4 .275 .300 .800 0.9 1.4 .3 .0 3.1
Oliver Miller 8 0 3.9 .250 . .500 0.6 0.1 .0 .4 0.4
Michael Olowokandi 15 2 14.9 .324 .000 .875 3.5 0.1 .1 .7 2.1
Latrell Sprewell 18 18 42.8 .421 .385 .779 4.4 4.0 1.6 .7 19.8
Wally Szczerbiak 12 0 24.8 .420 .345 .927 3.3 1.7 .5 .2 11.8
Gary Trent 13 0 5.5 .320 .000 .625 0.9 0.2 .0 .0 1.6

† - Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 5 three-pointers made.

Transactions

Trades

June 27, 2003
 To Milwaukee Bucks---- To Minnesota Timberwolves----
July 23, 2003
 To Philadelphia 76ers---- To Atlanta Hawks----
To New York Knicks---- To Minnesota Timberwolves----

Free agents

Additions

Date Player Contract Former Team
July 16, 2003 Michael Olowokandi Signed 3-year contract for $16.2 million Los Angeles Clippers
July 28, 2003 Fred Hoiberg Signed 1-year contract for $938,679 Chicago Bulls
July 28, 2003 Mark Madsen Signed 2-year contract for $1.4 million Los Angeles Lakers
September 30, 2003 Quincy Lewis Undisclosed Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
September 30, 2003 Keith McLeod Undisclosed Basket Livorno (Italy)
October 25, 2003 Keith McLeod Undisclosed Minnesota Timberwolves
October 29, 2003 Trenton Hassell Signed 1-year contract for $638,679 Chicago Bulls
December 13, 2003 Oliver Miller Signed 1-year contract for $686,838 Fujian Xunxing (China)
January 7, 2004 Anthony Goldwire Signed two 10-day contracts Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
January 30, 2004 Darrick Martin Signed two 10-day contracts Harlem Globetrotters
March 31, 2004 Darrick Martin Signed for rest of season Minnesota Timberwolves

Subtractions

Date Player Reason Left New Team
May 7, 2003 Igor Rakočević Waived Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
October 21, 2003 Keith McLeod Waived Minnesota Timberwolves
December 20, 2003 Quincy Lewis Waived Lucentum Alicante (Spain)
January 7, 2004 Keith McLeod Waived Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
January 26, 2004 Anthony Goldwire Waived Aris (Greece)
February 20, 2004 Darrick Martin 10-day contract expired Minnesota Timberwolves

[4]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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