The 1992–93 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the fourth season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season After finishing the previous season with the league's worst record, the Timberwolves received the third overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft, and selected power forward Christian Laettner out of Duke University. During the off-season, the team acquired Chuck Person and Micheal Williams from the Indiana Pacers, and signed free agent Bob McCann.
Regular season With the addition of Laettner, Person and Williams, the Timberwolves got off to a 2–2 start to the regular season, but continued to struggle by losing 28 of their next 33 games. After a 6–23 start to the season, head coach Jimmy Rodgers was fired and replaced with assistant coach, and former Timberwolves guard Sidney Lowe. Under Lowe, the team held a 12–35 record at the All-Star break, and suffered a 12-game losing streak in April, finishing in fifth place in the Midwest Division with a 19–63 record.
Doug West led the Timberwolves in scoring averaging 19.3 points per game, while Laettner averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Person provided the team with 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, and also led them with 118 three-point field goals, and Williams contributed 15.1 points, 8.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Off the bench, Thurl Bailey contributed 7.5 points per game, while McCann averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, second-year center Luc Longley averaged 5.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and starting center Felton Spencer provided with 4.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
West also finished tied in ninth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Timberwolves finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 754,593 at the Target Center during the regular season.
Notable highlights In the final game of the regular season against the Utah Jazz on April 25, 1993, Williams set an NBA record of 84 consecutive free throws surpassing Calvin Murphy, whose record was 78 back in 1981. The Timberwolves defeated the Jazz, 113–111 at home to end their 12-game losing streak; Williams shot .907 in free-throw percentage this season.
Aftermath Following the season, Spencer was traded to the Jazz, and McCann was released to free agency.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 3 Christian Laettner C/PF Duke 2 28 Marlon Maxey PF Texas-El Paso 2 34 Chris Smith SG Connecticut 2 51 Tim Burroughs PF Jacksonville
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot
z - clinched division title y - clinched division title x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
Player statistics
Ragular season PlayerPF81 81 2,823 708 223 105 83 1,472 34.9 8.7 2.8 1.3 1.0 18.2SG 80 80 3,104 247 235 85 21 1,543 38.8 3.1 2.9 1.1 .3 19.3SG 80 6 1,266 96 196 48 16 347 15.8 1.2 2.5 .6 .2 4.3SF 79 7 1,536 282 68 51 58 495 19.4 3.6 .9 .6 .7 6.3SF 78 75 2,985 433 343 67 30 1,309 38.3 5.6 4.4 .9 .4 16.8PG 76 76 2,661 273 661 165 23 1,151 35.0 3.6 8.7 2.2 .3 15.1C 71 48 1,296 324 17 23 66 293 18.3 4.6 .2 .3 .9 4.1PF 70 3 1,276 215 61 20 47 525 18.2 3.1 .9 .3 .7 7.5SG 61 2 642 68 72 16 5 161 10.5 1.1 1.2 .3 .1 2.6C 55 25 1,045 240 51 47 77 319 19.0 4.4 .9 .9 1.4 5.8PF 54 4 533 83 46 6 11 135 9.9 1.5 .9 .1 .2 2.5PF 43 3 520 164 12 11 18 231 12.1 3.8 .3 .3 .4 5.4SF 13 0 89 8 6 2 0 45 6.8 .6 .5 .2 .0 3.5†SF 4 0 71 3 9 3 0 20 17.8 .8 2.3 .8 .0 5.0†PF 2 0 8 0 1 0 0 0 4.0 .0 .5 .0 .0 .0
Awards and records Christian Laettner, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
References
See also 1992-93 NBA season