2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season

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

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

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 Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969-11-18 Florida State F 44 Ebi, Ndudi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1984-06-18 Westbury Christian (HS) F/C 21 Garnett, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1976-05-19 Farragut Academy (HS) G/F 23 Hassell, Trenton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1979-03-04 Austin Peay State G 32 Hoiberg, Fred 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1972-10-15 Iowa State G 16 Hudson, Troy  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1976-03-13 Southern Illinois C 40 Johnson, Ervin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967-12-21 New Orleans F 35 Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1976-01-28 Stanford G 15 Martin, Darrick 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971-03-06 UCLA C 3 Miller, Oliver 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1970-04-06 Arkansas C 34 Olowokandi, Michael 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 269 lb (122 kg) 1975-04-03 Pacific G/F 8 Sprewell, Latrell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970-09-08 Alabama F 10 Szczerbiak, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1977-03-05 Miami (OH) F 20 Trent, Gary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1974-09-22 Ohio	Head coach Flip Saunders (Minnesota) Assistant coach(es) Greg Ballard (Oregon) Sidney Lowe (North Carolina St.) Jerry Sichting (Purdue) Randy Wittman (Indiana) Don Zierden (Mount Senario) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 18 Denver W 106–92 Sam Cassell (40) Kevin Garnett (20) Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell (4) Target Center 18,503 1–0 2 April 21 Denver W 95–81 Latrell Sprewell (31) Kevin Garnett (22) Kevin Garnett (10) Target Center 18,101 2–0 3 April 24 @ Denver L 86–107 Latrell Sprewell (25) Kevin Garnett (11) Kevin Garnett (8) Pepsi Center 19,713 2–1 4 April 27 @ Denver W 84–82 Kevin Garnett (27) Kevin Garnett (14) Kevin Garnett (5) Pepsi Center 19,694 3–1 5 April 30 Denver W 102–91 Kevin Garnett (28) Kevin Garnett, Mark Madsen (7) Kevin Garnett (8) Target Center 19,890 4–1
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 4 Sacramento L 98–104 Sam Cassell (40) Kevin Garnett (18) Kevin Garnett (7) Target Center 18,792 0–1 2 May 8 Sacramento W 94–89 Kevin Garnett (28) Kevin Garnett, Ervin Johnson (11) Sam Cassell (7) Target Center 19,599 1–1 3 May 10 @ Sacramento W 114–113 (OT) Kevin Garnett (30) Kevin Garnett (15) Latrell Sprewell (6) ARCO Arena 17,317 2–1 4 May 12 @ Sacramento L 81–87 Kevin Garnett (19) Kevin Garnett (21) Sam Cassell, Kevin Garnett (6) ARCO Arena 17,317 2–2 5 May 14 Sacramento W 86–74 Latrell Sprewell (34) Mark Madsen (13) Sam Cassell (7) Target Center 19,818 3–2 6 May 16 @ Sacramento L 87–104 Latrell Sprewell (27) Kevin Garnett (10) Kevin Garnett (5) ARCO Arena 17,317 3–3 7 May 19 Sacramento W 83–80 Kevin Garnett (32) Kevin Garnett (21) Sam Cassell (7) Target Center 19,944 4–3
Conference Finals: 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 21 L.A. Lakers L 88–97 Latrell Sprewell (23) Michael Olowokandi (11) Sam Cassell (8) Target Center 19,522 0–1 2 May 23 L.A. Lakers W 89–71 Kevin Garnett (24) Kevin Garnett (11) Latrell Sprewell (8) Target Center 19,707 1–1 3 May 25 @ L.A. Lakers L 89–100 Kevin Garnett (22) Kevin Garnett (11) Kevin Garnett (7) Staples Center 18,997 1–2 4 May 27 @ L.A. Lakers L 85–92 Kevin Garnett (28) Kevin Garnett (13) Kevin Garnett (9) Staples Center 18,997 1–3 5 May 29 L.A. Lakers W 98–96 Kevin Garnett (30) Kevin Garnett (19) Latrell Sprewell (5) Target Center 20,109 2–3 6 May 31 @ L.A. Lakers L 90–96 Latrell Sprewell (27) Kevin Garnett (17) Darrick Martin, Latrell Sprewell (5) Staples Center 18,997 2–4
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

• Kevin Garnett received the Most Valuable Player Award.
• Kevin Garnett was named to the All-NBA First Team. Garnett also finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
• Sam Cassell was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Cassell also finished tenth in MVP voting.

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---- Anthony Peeler Joe Smith	To Minnesota Timberwolves---- Sam Cassell Ervin Johnson
July 23, 2003	To Philadelphia 76ers---- Marc Jackson Glenn Robinson 2006 second-round draft pick ( Daniel Gibson)	To Atlanta Hawks---- Terrell Brandon Randy Holcomb 2007 protected first-round draft pick
To New York Knicks---- Keith Van Horn	To Minnesota Timberwolves---- Latrell Sprewell

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. "2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves Roster and Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
2. Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
3. "Basketball Transactions Search Results". prosportstransactions.com.
4. "2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves Transactions". basketball-reference.com.