For many years, the Minnesota Timberwolves have always been considered a “poor” team that cannot reach the NBA Finals, even when they have owned many high-class stars over many generations such as Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, Karl-Anthony Towns.

However, this may change in the 2023/24 season. They have a great chance to reach the NBA Finals, despite losing Game 1 in the Eastern finals. The Minnesota Timberwolves are considered to have better forces than the Dallas Mavericks, and they are capable of reversing the situation in the BO7 series.

Have the Minnesota Timberwolves ever won the NBA championship?

Throughout its 35-year history, the Minnesota Timberwolves have never reached the NBA Finals. Therefore, they definitely cannot get the NBA championship title.

This sad achievement is only less than the unbelievable record of the Los Angeles Clippers, a team founded in 1970 and has never reached the final match in an NBA season.

In the past, the Minnesota Timberwolves have come very close to participating in the NBA finals. In 2004, they had superstar Kevin Garnett in the squad, a talented coach in Flip Saunders and a record of 58 wins – 24 losses in the Regular Season. Kevin Garnett himself also averaged 4.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists, taking home the MVP title of the season.

However, they lost 2-4 in the Western finals, when their opponent was the Los Angeles Lakers who were in the prime of the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant couple.

How many teams have never participated in the NBA Finals?

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of five teams in the NBA that have never reached the finals. The team was founded in 1989 and has never gone to the final match, just short of the Los Angeles Clippers’ record of 54 years without attending the NBA Finals.

As of the 2023/24 season.

* The Charlotte Hornets did not participate in the NBA from 2003 to 2005 because of financial and legal issues. This team used the name Charlotte Bobcats from 2004 to 2014 because the Hornets brand was used by New Orleans.

** The team has only appeared in the NBA since 2002, after the Hornets brand moved to the city of New Orleans and had the original name New Orleans Hornets. In 2013, this team officially changed to the name New Orleans Pelicans.

How many teams have never won an NBA championship?

In addition to the 5 teams mentioned above, there are 5 other teams that have reached the NBA Finals, but have not been able to win the championship. Thus, there are 10/30 teams that have never touched the prestigious Larry O’Brien trophy.

In particular, the Phoenix Suns appeared in the NBA Finals three times but all lost in the end to the Boston Celtics (1976), Chicago Bulls (1993) and Milwaukee Bucks (2021).

Longest absence streak in the NBA Finals

The longest streak of seasons without winning an NBA title belongs to the Sacramento Kings at 73 years. This team won the championship in 1951 and since that time, they have never reached the NBA Finals. However, at that time, the Sacramento Kings were called the Rochester Royals.

The Atlanta Hawks are another special case. They won the NBA championship in 1958 under the name St. Louis Hawks, and reached the 1961 NBA Finals but failed. Since then, the Atlanta Hawks have also gone through 63 seasons of not being able to reach the NBA Finals.

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