The

1999–2000 NBA season The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season began on November 2, 1999, and ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2 in the 2000 ...

was the 11th season for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. The Timberwolves acquired the sixth overall pick in the

1999 NBA draft The 1999–2000 NBA season, 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Bran ...

from the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, and selected small forward

Wally Szczerbiak Walter Robert Szczerbiak Jr. ( ; born March 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current color analyst for the New York Knicks on MSG Network. He played 10 seasons for four teams in the National Basketball Associati ...

out of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, and also selected point guard William Avery out of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

with the fourteenth overall pick. For the season opener, the Timberwolves traveled overseas to

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to play their first two games against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. After a 7–5 start to the regular season, the Timberwolves struggled posting an 8-game losing streak in December, but then won 20 of their next 25 games, and held a 27–20 record at the All-Star break. The Timberwolves enjoyed their first 50-win season, finishing in third place in the Midwest Division with a 50–32 record, and earning the #6 seed in the Western Conference.

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

averaged 22.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, and was named to the

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

, and to the

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in tw ...

, while being selected for the

2000 NBA All-Star Game The 2000 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 13, 2000, at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, home of the Golden State Warriors. This game was the 49th edition of the North American National ...

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

; he also finished in second place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting behind

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and in seventh place in

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

voting. In addition,

Terrell Brandon Thomas Terrell Brandon (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-Star, Brandon was a key starter on t ...

averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Szczerbiak provided the team with 11.6 points per game, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

, and

Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Posthumously inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Sealy ...

contributed 11.3 points per game. Off the bench, Joe Smith provided with 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while

Anthony Peeler Anthony Eugene Peeler (born November 25, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player, having played for a number of National Basketball Association (NBA) teams from 1992 to 2005. He was most commonly known for his defense and athle ...

contributed 9.8 points per game, and second-year center Rasho Nesterovic averaged 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as the team's starting center. However, in the Western Conference First Round of the

2000 NBA playoffs The 2000 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indian ...

, the Timberwolves lost in four games to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, losing in the opening round of the NBA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Following the season, Bobby Jackson signed as a free agent with the

. Tragedy struck on May 20, 2000, when Sealy died in a car accident, where he was killed by a drunk driver, who was on the wrong side of the road; Sealy, who was 30 years old, was just coming home from a birthday party for his teammate Garnett, who had just turned 24 years old the previous day on May 19. The driver involved in the crash, Souksangouane Phengsene, was sentenced to four years in prison. A notable highlight of the regular season included Sealy hitting a game winning three-pointer in a 101–100 home win against his former team, the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

on January 17, 2000.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Shooting guard

died in a car accident on May 20, 2000.

Regular season

Season standings

: z - clinched division title : y - clinched division title : x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

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Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

L 88–91
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L 82–86
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W 94–87
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Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, h ...

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L 77–85
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Player statistics

Ragular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

* Kevin Garnett,

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

1st Team

Transactions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 Minnesota Timberwolves Season Minnesota Timberwolves seasons

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

1999 in sports in Minnesota 2000 in sports in Minnesota