1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 9th season in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Timberwolves acquired Stanley Roberts from the Los Angeles Clippers,[2] and signed free agent Tom Hammonds. After a 4–1 start to the season, the Timberwolves played around .500 before posting a seven-game winning streak in January. However, they would lose Tom Gugliotta for the remainder of the season to an ankle injury after 41 games. Gugliotta led the team in scoring averaging 20.1 points per game, and contributed 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.[3] Chris Carr, who became the team's starting shooting guard this season, also went down with an ankle injury, only playing 51 games.[4] At midseason, the team traded long-time guard Doug West to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Anthony Peeler.[5] The Timberwolves won seven of their final eight games posting their first winning record at 45–37, third in the Midwest Division, and making their second consecutive playoff appearance.[6]

1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coachFlip Saunders
General managerKevin McHale
Owner(s)Glen Taylor
ArenaTarget Center
Results
Record45–37 (.549)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Midwest)
Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst round
(Lost to SuperSonics 2–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKARE
KLGT-TV
Midwest Sports Channel
RadioKFAN

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, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game,[7] while Marbury averaged 17.7 points and 8.6 assists per game. In addition, Sam Mitchell provided the team with 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Carr contributed 9.9 points per game, and Terry Porter provided with 9.5 points and 3.3 assists per game off the bench.[8] In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Timberwolves took a 2–1 series lead over the 2nd-seeded Seattle SuperSonics,[9] but went on to lose the series in five games.[10]

Following the season, Porter signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat,[11] while Roberts signed with the Houston Rockets, Cherokee Parks signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies, and 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, was released to free agency.[12]

Draft picks
Main article: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
120Paul GrantC United StatesWisconsin
243Gordon Malone United StatesWest Virginia

Roster
1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 43 Carr, Chris  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1974–03–12 Southern Illinois
F 17 Curley, Bill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1972–05–29 Boston College
F/C 21 Garnett, Kevin (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1976–05–19 Farragut Academy (HS)
F 24 Gugliotta, Tom  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–12–19 North Carolina State
F 20 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–03–27 Georgia Tech
G 31 Jordan, Reggie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1968–01–26 New Mexico State
G 3 Marbury, Stephon (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1977–02–20 Georgia Tech
F 42 Mitchell, Sam 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–09–02 Mercer
C 44 Parks, Cherokee 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1972–10–11 Duke
G 1 Peeler, Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1969–11–25 Missouri
G 30 Porter, Terry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–04–08 Wisconsin-Stevens Point
C 53 Roberts, Stanley 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1970–02–07 LSU
G 6 Wheat, DeJuan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1973–10–14 Louisville
G 4 Williams, Micheal 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–07–23 Baylor
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 18, 1998

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

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
z-Utah Jazz 6220.756–36–526–1522–2
x-San Antonio Spurs 5626.683631–1025–1618–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 4537.5491726–1519–2214–10
x-Houston Rockets 4141.5002124–1717–2414–10
Dallas Mavericks 2062.2444213–287–349–15
Vancouver Grizzlies 1963.2324314–275–364–20
Denver Nuggets 1171.134519–322–393–21
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Utah Jazz6220.756–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics6121.7441
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers6121.7441
4 x-Phoenix Suns5626.6836
5 x-San Antonio Spurs5626.6836
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4636.56116
7 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4537.54917
8 x-Houston Rockets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings2755.32935
10 Dallas Mavericks2062.24442
11 Vancouver Grizzlies1963.23243
11 Golden State Warriors1963.23243
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745
14 Denver Nuggets1171.13451
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 –2–14–01–34–02–02–02–22–01–11–32–00–21–33–10–21–22–22–23–10–21–12–01–11–14–00–22–04–0
Boston 1–2–1–21–31–31–11–12–21–11–10–42–01–10–42–21–12–22–22–23–10–21–11–10–21–13–00–22–03–2
Charlotte 0–42–1–1–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–01–13–13–11–12–21–33–12–11–12–01–11–11–14–01–12–02–2
Chicago 3–13–13–1–2–21–12–03–12–02–02–22–01–12–14–01–14–04–03–12–11–11–12–02–01–14–00–22–03–1
Cleveland 0–43–12–22–2–1–12–03–12–01–12–22–01–11–32–22–03–11–22–23–12–01–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–2
Dallas 0–21–10–21–11–1–3–10–21–30–41–11–30–40–20–22–20–21–10–20–20–40–40–40–42–21–10–44–01–1
Denver 0–21–10–20–20–21–3–0–21–30–40–22–20–40–20–21–30–20–20–20–20–42–21–30–40–40–20–41–31–1
Detroit 2–22–21–31–31–32–02–0–2–01–11–32–00–21–22–20–22–22–21–23–11–10–21–11–10–24–00–20–22–2
Golden State 0–21–11–10–20–23–13–10–2–1–30–21–31–30–20–20–40–21–11–10–20–41–32–21–31–30–20–41–30–2
Houston 1–11–10–20–21–14–04–01–13–1–1–14–01–30–21–11–31–11–10–21–11–31–34–02–21–32–00–43–11–1
Indiana 3–14–01–32–22–21–12–03–12–01–1–2–00–23–14–02–02–12–13–14–01–11–12–00–20–24–01–12–04–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–23–12–20–23–10–40–2–0–40–20–20–41–10–20–21–10–40–43–11–30–41–11–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–11–11–11–14–04–02–03–13–12–04–0–1–12–04–01–11–11–10–22–22–24–04–01–32–03–14–01–1
Miami 3–14–01–31–23–12–02–02–12–02–01–32–01–1–3–11–13–12–23–14–00–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–02–2
Milwaukee 1–32–21–30–42–22–02–02–22–01–10–42–00–21–3–1–10–43–12–12–20–22–02–00–21–13–10–21–11–2
Minnesota 2–01–11–11–10–22–23–12–04–03–10–24–00–41–11–1–2–01–10–22–03–11–33–11–31–31–11–34–00–2
New Jersey 2–12–22–20–41–32–02–02–22–01–11–21–11–11–34–00–2–2–23–13–11–11–12–01–10–23–10–22–01–3
New York 2–22–23–10–42–11–12–02–21–11–11–22–01–12–21–31–12–2–4–02–22–01–11–10–21–13–10–22–01–3
Orlando 2–22–21–31–32–22–02–02–11–12–01–32–01–11–31–22–01–30–4–4–00–22–00–20–21–13–10–22–03–1
Philadelphia 1–31–31–21–21–32–02–01–32–01–10–41–12–00–42–20–21–32–20–4–1–11–11–10–20–22–20–22–03–1
Phoenix 2–02–01–11–10–24–04–01–14–03–11–14–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–1–2–23–13–12–22–01–34–01–1
Portland 1–11–10–21–11–14–02–22–03–13–11–14–02–20–20–23–11–11–10–21–12–2–3–12–20–42–03–12–21–1
Sacramento 0–21–11–10–20–24–03–11–12–20–40–21–30–40–20–21–30–21–12–01–11–31–3–0–41–31–12–22–21–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–10–22–04–04–01–13–12–22–03–10–42–02–03–11–12–02–02–01–32–24–0–2–22–01–34–01–1
Seattle 1–11–11–11–12–02–24–02–03–13–12–04–03–12–01–13–12–01–11–12–02–24–03–12–2–2–02–24–01–1
Toronto 0–40–30–40–41–31–12–00–42–00–20–41–10–20–41–31–11–31–31–32–20–20–21–10–20–2–0–21–10–3
Utah 2–02–01–12–01–14–04–02–04–04–01–13–11–31–12–03–12–02–02–02–03–11–32–23–12–22–0–4–00–2
Vancouver 0–20–20–20–20–20–43–12–03–11–30–23–10–40–21–10–40–20–20–20–20–42–22–20–40–41–10–4–1–1
Washington 0–42–32–21–32–11–11–12–22–01–10–42–01–12–22–12–03–13–11–31–31–11–11–11–11–13–02–01–1—

Playoffs
1998 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 24 @ Seattle L 83–108 Kevin Garnett (18) Kevin Garnett (18) Stephon Marbury (5) KeyArena
17,072		 0–1
2 April 26 @ Seattle W 98–93 Stephon Marbury (25) Anthony Peeler (14) Stephon Marbury (7) KeyArena
17,072		 1–1
3 April 28 Seattle W 98–90 Anthony Peeler (20) Kevin Garnett (8) Stephon Marbury (11) Target Center
19,006		 2–1
4 April 30 Seattle L 88–92 Kevin Garnett (20) Kevin Garnett (10) Stephon Marbury (7) Target Center
19,006		 2–2
5 May 2 @ Seattle L 84–97 Anthony Peeler (28) Reggie Jordan (8) Stephon Marbury (8) KeyArena
17,072		 2–3
1998 schedule

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
Chris Carr 514022.8.420.315.8483.01.7.3.29.9
Bill Curley11113.3.485.000.6672.5.4.3.13.1
Kevin Garnett 828239.3.491.188.7389.64.21.71.818.5
Tom Gugliotta414138.6.502.118.8218.74.11.5.520.1
Tom Hammonds57220.0.516.000.6974.8.6.3.36.1
Reggie Jordan5718.5.478.000.5691.7.9.6.22.6
Stephon Marbury 828138.0.415.313.7312.88.61.3.117.7
Sam Mitchell 813327.6.464.349.8324.81.3.8.312.3
Cherokee Parks 794321.6.499.000.6515.5.7.51.17.1
Anthony Peeler302433.0.445.453.7803.43.81.7.213.0
Terry Porter82821.8.449.395.8562.03.3.8.29.5
Stanley Roberts744417.9.495..4814.9.4.31.06.2
Clifford Rozier605.0.500..0001.0.0.0.01.0
Doug West381018.1.374.000.7252.21.2.3.14.1
DeJuan Wheat3404.4.400.471.600.3.7.2.01.7
Micheal Williams2506.4.333.000.970.61.3.4.12.6

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bill Curley203.5....0.0.0.0.0
Kevin Garnett 5538.8.480..7789.64.0.82.415.8
Tom Hammonds5122.6.429..7504.4.4.0.27.2
Reggie Jordan2014.5.6251.000.5004.51.5.5.06.0
Stephon Marbury 5541.8.306.280.7833.27.62.4.013.8
Sam Mitchell 5535.4.448.214.8955.41.6.2.214.4
Cherokee Parks101.0....0.0.0.0.0
Anthony Peeler 5542.6.403.4841.0007.63.62.0.616.2
Terry Porter 5437.6.429.400.8335.03.21.0.015.8
Stanley Roberts108.0.000..5002.0.0.0.01.0
DeJuan Wheat103.0.500..1.0.01.0.02.0
Micheal Williams4014.5.400.500.7782.32.8.8.35.0

References
  1. 1997-98 Minnesota Timberwolves
  2. "Draft Over, But Not Finished". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1997. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  3. "Wolves' Gugliotta Out for Season". AP News. February 20, 1998. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. "Grizzlies' West Vows to Deal With Drinking". Los Angeles Times. February 25, 1998. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  5. "Timberwolves Guard To Get Treatment". AP News. February 23, 1998. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  6. "1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  7. "1998 NBA All-Star Game: East 135, West 114". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  8. "1997–98 Minnesota Timberwolves Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  9. "N.B.A.: PLAYOFFS; Minnesota Shocks Seattle". New York Times. April 29, 1998. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. "THE N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Sonics Advance After Submerging the Spunky Timberwolves". New York Times. May 3, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  11. "Porter say title potential in Miami Heat". The Journal Times. March 27, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  12. "Timberwolves' Williams finally returns". UPI Archives. December 12, 1997. Retrieved July 18, 2021.

See also
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