60 free Minnesota Timberwolves trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Minnesota Timberwolves trivia quiz covers the whole franchise: the 1986 name vote that beat 'Polars', the Metrodome season that drew a million fans, Isaiah Rider's dunk, the near-move to New Orleans, Kevin Garnett's arrival out of high school and his 2004 MVP season, the Joe Smith penalty, the Kevin Love years, the Wiggins-LaVine 'Bounce Brothers', Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, the Rudy Gobert trade and consecutive Western Conference finals. There are easy questions on the arena, the mascot and the biggest names, plenty of mid-range history, and some genuinely hard ones about Kurt Rambis's record, the Tokyo Dome opener and the two ABA teams that came before the Wolves. Uniforms, ownership and the Prince tribute jersey all get a look. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. Play it solo or run it as a round at your next watch party. For the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year did the Timberwolves begin play as an NBA expansion team?
1989
They joined alongside Orlando; Charlotte and Miami had started a year earlier.
Q 02What is the name of the Timberwolves' home arena in downtown Minneapolis?
Target Center
The team played its first season in the Metrodome before moving into the new arena in 1990.
Q 03Which name lost to 'Timberwolves' in the 1986 vote among Minnesota's 842 city councils?
Polars
'Timberwolves' won by nearly two to one; Minnesota has the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states.
Q 04Which NBA franchise left Minneapolis in 1960 and kept its lake-inspired name in its new city?
Lakers
The Minneapolis Lakers were named for the state's lakes and kept the name in Los Angeles.
Q 05Which Pistons forward, the Wolves' first expansion pick, refused to report and was traded?
Rick Mahorn
Fresh off a title, he had no interest in an expansion team and was sent to Philadelphia.
Q 06In which venue did the Timberwolves play their first season, drawing a record 49,551 for the home finale?
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
They drew more than a million fans that year, an NBA record, despite going 22–60.
Q 07Which Wolves guard won the 1994 Slam Dunk Contest in Minneapolis with his 'East Bay Funk Dunk'?
Isaiah Rider
The between-the-legs dunk was one of the few highlights of a 20–62 season.
Q 08In 1994 the original owners nearly sold the Timberwolves to a group planning to move them to which city?
New Orleans
NBA owners rejected the move and Glen Taylor stepped in as lead investor.
Q 09Which owner bought the Timberwolves in 1994 and kept them until selling to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore?
Glen Taylor
His sale to Rodriguez and Lore was agreed in 2021, collapsed in 2024, went to arbitration and was finalised in 2025.
Q 10With which pick did the Timberwolves select high-schooler Kevin Garnett in the 1995 draft?
Fifth
He was the first player drafted straight out of high school in two decades.
Q 11Whom did the Timberwolves trade to Milwaukee on draft night 1996 for the rights to Stephon Marbury?
Ray Allen
Marbury forced his way out in 1999, refusing an extension because he wanted to be a team's biggest star.
Q 12How many million dollars was the six-year contract the Timberwolves gave Kevin Garnett in 1997?
126
The deal made the Wolves the poster child for reckless spending during the 1998 lockout.
Q 13Whom did the Timberwolves get from New Jersey in the 1999 Stephon Marbury trade?
Terrell Brandon
The deal also brought a first-round pick that became Wally Szczerbiak.
Q 21To which team did the Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett in July 2007?
Boston Celtics
The seven-player-and-picks haul was the largest package ever traded for a single player, and Garnett won the title in his first season away.
Q 22Whom did the Timberwolves draft third in 2008 and trade that night to Memphis for Kevin Love?
O. J. Mayo
Mike Miller also came to Minnesota in the deal.
Q 23Kevin Love's 31-point, 31-rebound game in 2010 was the NBA's first 30-30 game in how many years?
28
Later that season he ran his double-double streak to 53 games, the longest since the merger.
Q 14Which guard, killed by a drunk driver in 2000, got the Timberwolves' first retired number?
Malik Sealy
His No. 2 has hung from the Target Center rafters since 2000; Kevin Garnett's 21 is scheduled to join it in 2027.
Q 15A voided deal with which forward cost the Timberwolves three first-round picks and a $3.5 million fine in 2000?
Joe Smith
The NBA also suspended GM Kevin McHale for a year; the penalty was originally five first-rounders.
Q 16Which two veterans, acquired in 2003, helped Kevin Garnett's Wolves reach the conference finals?
Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell
Cassell hurt his groin doing his 'big balls' dance in Game 7 against Sacramento and barely played against the Lakers.
Q 17What was the Timberwolves' record in 2003–04, when they earned the top seed in the West?
58–24
Garnett won MVP that season, averaging 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Q 18Which team beat the Timberwolves in the 2004 Western Conference finals, their first?
Los Angeles Lakers
Even Phil Jackson said a healthy Sam Cassell might have swung the series to Minnesota.
Q 19Kevin Garnett's leap onto the scorer's table in 2004 came after a Game 7 win over which team?
Sacramento Kings
It followed the franchise's first playoff series win, over Denver, in the previous round.
Q 20Which future Rookie of the Year did the Wolves draft sixth in 2006, then trade for Randy Foye?
Brandon Roy
Roy signed back with Minnesota in 2012 for a brief, injury-shortened comeback.
Q 24How many consecutive double-doubles did Kevin Love record in 2010–11?
53
He passed Moses Malone's post-merger mark and Garnett's team record of 37 along the way.
Q 25What was Kurt Rambis's record in two seasons as Timberwolves head coach before he was fired in 2011?
32–132
His 15–67 first season was the second-worst record in the league.
Q 26Ricky Rubio's 2012 rookie season ended with an ACL tear in a collision with which player?
Kobe Bryant
The Spanish point guard had finally arrived from Spain two years after being drafted fifth overall in 2009.
Q 27Which team received Kevin Love in the 2014 three-way trade that brought that year's No. 1 pick to Minnesota?
Cleveland Cavaliers
Love joined LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and won a title in 2016.
Q 28Who was the first Timberwolves player to be named NBA Rookie of the Year?
Andrew Wiggins
He won it in 2014–15 despite the team going 16–66; Towns repeated the feat the following year.
Q 29What nickname was given to the young duo of Zach LaVine and the 2015 Rookie of the Year?
The Bounce Brothers
LaVine won the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie; the pairing ended with the 2017 Jimmy Butler trade.
Q 30Whom did the Timberwolves take with their first ever No. 1 overall pick, in 2015?
Karl-Anthony Towns
He was traded to the Knicks in 2024 for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.