Minnesota Timberwolves Postseason History

The Minnesota Timberwolves entered the NBA in 1989 as an expansion team. They would qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 1997 and would make 8 consecutive postseason appearances. Here is a look at the Timberwolves postseason history.

1996-1997. The Minnesota Timberwolves qualify for the postseason for the first time in their history. They would play the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference quarter finals, but would get swept in three games.

1997-1998. Minnesota returns to the playoffs for the second consecutive season. This time they face the Seattle Supersonics in the first round. In game two of the series the Timberwolves would win their first playoff game in franchise history. They would eventually take a two games to one series lead. But Seattle would win the final two games of the series to send the Timberwolves home.

1998-1999. The Timberwolves return to the playoffs in 1999 and face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The two teams split the first two games but the Spurs win games three and four to take the series 3 games to 1.

1999-2000. The Timberwolves qualify for the playoffs in 2000 with a 50 and 32 record, the best record in franchise history to that point. They play the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. Portland wins the first two games, before Minnesota wins game three. However Portland would win game four to win the series in four games.

2000-2001. The Timberwolves qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. This time they would face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Once again Minnesota would lose in the first round this time three games to one.

2001-2002. Minnesota faces off against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2002 playoffs. The Mavericks would sweep the Timberwolves in three games to give Minnesota their sixth consecutive first round loss in the playoffs.

2002-2003. The Minnesota Timberwolves face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2003 season. The First round is expanded from a best of five series to a best of seven series. The Timberwolves would take a two games to one series lead but the Lakers win the next three games to take the series three games to two.

2003-2004. Minnesota enters the 2004 playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference. They face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs and win the series four games to one. The Timberwolves win their first playoff series in franchise history. They advance to the conference semi-finals to face the Sacramento Kings. The series goes seven games and the Timberwolves win the seventh game by a score of 83 to 80 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. The Timberwolves face the Los Angles Lakers in the conference finals but would lose the series four games to two.