2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 2003–04 NBA season was the 15th season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association.[1] The season is one of the most memorable in Timberwolves history. During the offseason, the Timberwolves acquired 4-time All-Star guard Latrell Sprewell. The arrival was seen as controversial as Sprewell was known for his choking incident with then-Warriors head coach P. J. Carlesimo, though also known for helping the 8th-seeded New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999.[2] 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,[3] also was acquired to join Garnett, forming a "Big 3". The Timberwolves also signed free agents Michael Olowakandi and Trenton Hassell. 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.

2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Division champions
Head coachFlip Saunders
General managerKevin McHale
Owner(s)Glen Taylor
ArenaTarget Center
Results
Record58–24 (.707)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishWestern Conference finals
(lost to Lakers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionFox Sports North
RadioKFAN

In the first round of the playoffs, the Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games, which was their first ever win in a playoff series. The Wolves were then pushed to the limit in the semi-finals by the Sacramento Kings, who they narrowly defeated in a deciding seventh game. In the Western Conference finals, they faced the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them in last season's First Round in six games. The Lakers team, known for its all-star starting lineup of Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone, defeated the Wolves in six games, then would go on to lose in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons in five games. Garnett, Cassell, and head coach Flip 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.

As of 2023, this remains the only season the Timberwolves have ever won a playoff series; Minnesota would not make the playoffs again until 2018, losing in the first round. This also remains their lone division title; Minnesota currently has the longest active division title drought in the NBA.

Offseason

NBA draft
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
2003–04 Minnesota Timberwolves roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
PG 19 Cassell, Sam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969-11-18 Florida State
SF 44 Ebi, Ndudi Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1984-06-18 Westbury Christian HS (TX)
PF 21 Garnett, Kevin (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1976-05-19 Farragut Academy (IL)
SG 23 Hassell, Trenton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1979-03-04 Austin Peay
SG 32 Hoiberg, Fred 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1972-10-15 Iowa State
PG 16 Hudson, Troy Injured 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
C 35 Madsen, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1976-01-28 Stanford
PG 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
SF 8 Sprewell, Latrell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970-09-08 Alabama
SF 10 Szczerbiak, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1977-03-05 Miami (OH)
C 20 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

Roster
Last transaction: January 30, 2004

Regular season

Standings
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Minnesota Timberwolves 5824.707–31–1027–1414–10
x-San Antonio Spurs 5725.695133–824–1715–9
x-Dallas Mavericks 5230.634636–516–2514–10
x-Memphis Grizzlies 5032.610831–1019–2212–12
x-Houston Rockets 4537.5491327–1418–238–16
x-Denver Nuggets 4339.5241529–1214–2711–13
Utah Jazz 4240.5121628–1314–2710–14
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Minnesota Timberwolves5824.707–
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers5626.6832
3 x-San Antonio Spurs5725.6951
4 x-Sacramento Kings5527.6713
5 x-Dallas Mavericks5230.6346
6 x-Memphis Grizzlies5032.6108
7 x-Houston Rockets4537.54913
8 x-Denver Nuggets4339.52415
9 Utah Jazz4240.51216
10 Portland Trail Blazers4141.50017
11 Seattle SuperSonics3745.45121
12 Golden State Warriors3745.45121
13 Phoenix Suns2953.35429
14 Los Angeles Clippers2854.34130

Record vs. opponents
2003-04 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MEM MIA MIL MIN NJN NOH NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA WAS
Atlanta –3–13–11–32–02–01–30–20–20–40–21–10–21–32–21–11–32–20–31–31–21–10–20–21–11–11–30–22–2
Boston 1–3–1–23–11–12–00–32–01–11–30–20–21–12–21–31–12–20–41–33–13–11–10–21–10–21–13–11–13–1
Chicago 1–32–1–2–20–20–20–41–10–21–31–10–20–20–41–30–20–32–22–23–10–41–10–20–20–20–24–01–11–3
Cleveland 3–11–32–2–0–20–22–20–20–21–31–10–20–22–22–20–21–23–14–02–13–10–21–10–21–12–01–31–12–2
Dallas 0–21–12–02–0–2–21–13–13–10–22–22–22–21–11–12–22–02–02–02–01–13–13–13–13–13–11–12–21–1
Denver 0–20–22–02–02–2–0–23–12–20–22–21–32–21–12–01–30–21–11–11–12–04–04–02–21–32–20–23–12–0
Detroit 3–13–04–02–21–12–0–1–11–11–32–01–12–04–03–10–22–21–33–13–12–22–02–00–21–11–13–11–13–0
Golden State 2–00–21–12–01–31–31–1–2–20–22–21–31–31–11–12–20–20–22–01–11–12–22–22–22–23–11–12–21–1
Houston 2–01–12–02–01–32–21–12–2–1–14–02–21–31–12–02–21–12–02–02–02–01–33–10–40–41–31–12–22–0
Indiana 4–03–13–13–12–02–03–12–01–1–2–01–11–13–01–31–13–12–23–13–14–02–01–10–21–12–04–02–02–1
L.A. Clippers 2–02–01–11–12–22–20–22–20–40–2–1–30–40–22–00–40–21–11–12–01–13–12–20–41–30–41–11–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–12–02–02–02–23–11–13–12–21–13–1–2–22–02–01–32–01–12–02–01–13–12–21–33–13–12–03–12–0
Memphis 2–01–12–02–02–22–20–23–13–11–14–02–2–1–11–11–32–01–11–12–02–02–22–22–23–11–32–01–32–0
Miami 3–12–24–02–21–11–10–41–11–10–32–00–21–1–1–20–23–23–11–34–01–31–10–21–10–22–02–11–14–0
Milwaukee 2–23–13–12–21–10–21–31–10–23–10–20–21–12–1–0–23–11–32–23–12–11–11–11–11–10–23–11–13–1
Minnesota 1–11–12–02–02–23–12–02–22–21–14–03–13–12–02–0–1–12–01–12–01–14–01–33–12–23–12–02–22–0
New Jersey 3–12–23–02–10–22–02–22–01–11–32–00–20–22–31–31–1–2–13–14–03–11–10–21–10–22–02–21–14–0
New Orleans 2–24–02–21–30–21–13–12–00–22–21–11–11–11–33–10–21–2–1–24–02–21–12–00–21–10–21–31–13–1
New York 3–03–12–20–40–21–11–30–20–21–31–10–21–13–12–21–11–32–1–3–13–11–11–11–10–21–13–10–24–0
Orlando 3–11–31–31–20–21–11–31–10–21–30–20–20–20–41–30–20–40–41–3–2–21–10–20–20–20–21–21–14–0
Philadelphia 2–11–34–01–31–10–22–21–10–20–41–11–10–23–11–21–11–32–21–32–2–1–11–10–22–01–11–30–22–2
Phoenix 1–11–11–12–01–30–40–22–23–10–21–31–32–21–11–10–41–11–11–11–11–1–2–21–30–42–20–21–31–1
Portland 2–02–02–01–11–30–40–22–21–31–12–22–22–22–01–13–12–00–21–12–01–12–2–3–10–42–21–12–21–1
Sacramento 2–01–12–02–01–32–22–02–24–02–04–03–12–21–11–11–31–12–01–12–02–03–11–3–2–23–12–03–11–1
San Antonio 1–12–02–01–11–33–11–12–24–01–13–11–31–32–01–12–22–01–12–02–00–24–04–02–2–4–02–04–02–0
Seattle 1–11–12–00–21–32–21–11–33–10–24–01–33–10–22–01–30–22–01–12–01–12–22–21–30–4–1–11–31–1
Toronto 3–11–30–43–11–12–01–31–11–10–41–10–20–21–21–30–22–23–11–32–13–12–01–10–20–21–1–1–11–3
Utah 2–01–11–11–12–21–31–12–22–20–23–11–33–11–11–12–21–11–12–01–12–03–12–21–30–43–11–1–1–1
Washington 2–21–33–12–21–10–20–31–10–21–22–00–20–20–41–30–20–41–30–40–42–21–11–11–10–21–13–11–1—

Playoffs
2004 playoff game log
First round: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 18 Denver W 106–92 Sam Cassell (40) Kevin Garnett (20) Garnett, 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) Garnett, Madsen (7) Kevin Garnett (8) Target Center
19,890		 4–1
Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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) Garnett, 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) Cassell, 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
19,318		 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 21 L.A. Lakers L 88–97 Latrell Sprewell (23) Kevin Garnett (10) Sam Cassell (8) Target Center
19,552		 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) Sprewell, Martin (5) Staples Center
18,997		 2–4
2004 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

[4]

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 Cassell818135.0.488.398.873^3.37.31.3.219.8
Ndudi Ebi1701.9.429..2500.20.2.0.20.8
Kevin Garnett828239.4.499.256.79113.95.01.52.224.2
Anthony Goldwire*5013.2.357.3331.000^1.22.0.6.02.6
Trenton Hassell817428.0.465.308.7873.21.6.4.75.0
Fred Hoiberg79322.8.465.442.8453.41.4.8.16.7
Troy Hudson29117.3.386.403.8181.22.4.2.07.5
Ervin Johnson664714.6.534.000.6073.50.4.4.71.9
Quincy Lewis1404.6.350.400.0.50.1.1.11.1
Mark Madsen721217.3.495.000.4833.80.4.5.33.6
Darrick Martin16010.8.299.2311.000^0.41.4.1.13.4
Keith McLeod33011.8.329.100.7671.01.8.5.02.7
Oliver Miller48110.5.530.000.6522.70.8.4.52.5
Michael Olowokandi432521.5.425..5905.70.6.41.66.5
Latrell Sprewell828237.8.409.331.8143.83.51.1.316.8
Wally Szczerbiak2808.7.449.435.8283.11.2.4.010.2
Gary Trent68215.1.473.000.7583.20.7.2.35.6

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

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Sam Cassell161531.1.465.417.8522.54.4.8.216.6
Kevin Garnett181843.5.452.313.77614.65.11.32.324.3
Trenton Hassell181826.2.521†.500^.8132.41.5.6.47.7
Fred Hoiberg18024.3.453.458^.9383.71.3.9.06.4
Ervin Johnson181619.8.500..6254.70.7.6.62.7
Mark Madsen17013.1.531†..4483.40.1.3.22.8
Darrick Martin16311.4.275.300.8000.91.4.3.03.1
Oliver Miller803.9.250..5000.60.1.0.40.4
Michael Olowokandi15214.9.324.000.8753.50.1.1.72.1
Latrell Sprewell181842.8.421.385.7794.44.01.6.719.8
Wally Szczerbiak12024.8.420.345.9273.31.7.5.211.8
Gary Trent1305.5.320.000.6250.90.2.0.01.6

† – 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----

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

[5]

References
  1. "2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves Roster and Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
  2. Isola, Frank (July 24, 2003). "Knicks send Sprewell packing: Trade nets Van Horn". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  3. "Timberwolves Get Cassell". Los Angeles Times. June 28, 2003. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  4. "Basketball Transactions Search Results". prosportstransactions.com.
  5. "2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves Transactions". basketball-reference.com.
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