Minnesota Timberwolves: Ranking the franchise’s 5 best jerseys
By James Grieco
People are raving about the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2018-19 City Edition uniform after its reveal this week. Where does it rank among the franchise’s best uniforms though?
Since entering the NBA in 1989, the Minnesota Timberwolves have had five different “eras” of jerseys and 15 total jerseys, including the 2018-19 City Edition that was officially introduced to the public on Thursday.
The Timberwolves moniker is one of the most underrated in sports, seeing as the name is both fearsome in general and applicable to Minnesota (Raptors? Warriors? Tigers? Wizards? C’mon people, know the area you’re working with when you name a team!). The blue and green base color scheme isn’t used enough in sports, but really pops when it works; unfortunately, much of the Timberwolves’ history has downplayed green while forcing black and grey to the forefront.
The team’s artwork in general has always been unique, if not gimmicky, and many NBA fans outside of Minnesota routinely poked fun at the iconic snarling wolf head looming over pine trees logo that defined the Kevin Garnett era. Despite solid artwork, the franchise’s jerseys, while never truly horrendous, have had some clunkers.
The rebrand post-KG had strange arcs of color on the sides and strange pine trees on the shorts that looked like they’d been drawn in Microsoft Paint. The less said about the black sleeved uniform, the better. (Here is the history of the team’s jerseys and artwork.)
The current Nike redesign looks smoother than the Wolves’ jerseys have ever looked before, but the primary home and road unis still have next to no green in the design, which is upsetting in my opinion. The lime green alternatives are hideous and don’t stand out in the way that Nike likely intended them to.
Overall, the current white and blue jerseys feel reserved and not necessarily tied into the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’re too sterile to get into the franchise’s top five (although I dig the new logo).
With that being said, let’s dive into the list, accounting for the overall aesthetics, team success and standout players to rank the Wolves’ best jerseys.