10 most impactful moments from the 2017-18 NBA season
By Luke Askew
2. Minnesota Timberwolves end playoff drought
When the 2017-18 NBA season started, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the longest active playoff drought. They had gone 13 seasons without qualifying for the playoffs, but that would end this season.
In 2003-04, the Wolves finished with a 58-24 record led by Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. Ever since then, it’s been mostly downhill for the Wolves.
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They infamously passed on Stephen Curry in favor of two other point guards (Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn) in the 2009 NBA Draft, leaving the franchise and its fans to wonder what could have been.
Things started looking up when they traded for Andrew Wiggins and drafted Karl-Anthony Towns, but they still needed more. They needed veteran leadership and defense — and boy would they end up finding it.
During the 2017 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves made a move that would change their franchise history forever when they traded for perennial All-Star and former Tom Thibodeau favorite, Jimmy Butler.
Despite starting out incredibly hot, the Minnesota Timberwolves would fall in the standings due to Butler’s knee injury. The Wolves were clearly not the same team offensively or defensively without their leader, but they managed to weather the storm until he returned, putting themselves in position to control their own destiny.
On the last night of the regular season, the Wolves played the Denver Nuggets in a win-or-go-home scenario. The winner would move on to the playoffs, while the loser would get an early start on the offseason.
In front of a raucous Target Center crowd, the Wolves beat the Nuggets in OT behind Jimmy Butler’s 31 points.
Even though the Timberwolves would go on to lose to the Rockets in five games in the opening round, they finally ended their playoff drought, effectively changing the basketball culture in Minnesota.