# 2009–10 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 2009–10 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 21st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association.

## Key dates

* June 25 – The 2009 NBA draft took place in New York City.
* July 8 – The free agency period started.

## Summary
### NBA Draft 2009

The Timberwolves, thanks to various trades, had six picks in the 2009 draft. They had four first-round picks at the #5, #6, #18, and #28 slots, as well as the #45 and #47 picks in the second.
Their first pick was Spanish teenage point guard sensation Ricky Rubio, followed immediately by another point guard, Syracuse sophomore Jonny Flynn. At #18, they picked yet another point guard, North Carolina's Ty Lawson. Their final first-rounder was Lawson's backcourt mate, shooting guard Wayne Ellington.
In the second round, the Timberwolves selected a fourth point guard, Nick Calathes of Florida. The team's final selection was Henk Norel, a Dutch power forward who was Rubio's teammate at Spanish club power Joventut Badalona.
The glut of point guards was partially resolved when the Timberwolves traded the rights to Lawson to the Denver Nuggets and Calathes to the Dallas Mavericks. In any event, Calathes was not expected to join the NBA in the near future, as he has signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Panathinaikos, one of the strongest clubs in his ancestral home of Greece.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Team |
| 1 | 5 | Ricky Rubio(from Washington) | PG | Spain | DKV Joventut (Spain) |
| 1 | 6 | Jonny Flynn | PG | United States | Syracuse (So.) |
| 1 | 18 | Ty Lawson(from Miami, traded to Denver) | PG | United States | North Carolina (Jr.) |
| 1 | 28 | Wayne Ellington(from Boston) | SG | United States | North Carolina (Jr.) |
| 2 | 45 | Nick Calathes(from Philadelphia via Miami, traded to Dallas) | PG | United States Greece | Florida (So.) |
| 2 | 47 | Henk Norel(from Miami) | PF | Netherlands | DKV Joventut (Spain) |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Northwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Denver Nuggets | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 34–7 | 19–22 | 12–4 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 32–9 | 21–20 | 8–8 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 3 | 26–15 | 24–17 | 8–8 |
| x-Oklahoma City Thunder | 50 | 32 | .610 | 3 | 27–14 | 23–18 | 9–7 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 15 | 67 | .183 | 38 | 10–31 | 5–36 | 3–13 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-Dallas Mavericks | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 |
| 4 | y-Denver Nuggets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 4 |
| 5 | x-Utah Jazz | 53 | 29 | .646 | 4 |
| 6 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 7 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 8 | x-Oklahoma City Thunder | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 10 | Memphis Grizzlies | 40 | 42 | .488 | 17 |
| 11 | New Orleans Hornets | 37 | 45 | .451 | 20 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 29 | 53 | .354 | 28 |
| 13 | Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 31 |
| 14 | Sacramento Kings | 25 | 57 | .305 | 32 |
| 15 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 15 | 67 | .183 | 42 |

### Record vs. opponents

2009-10 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NOH | NYK | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | TOR | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Boston | 0–4 | – | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Charlotte | 2–2 | 0–3 | – | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 |
| Chicago | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Cleveland | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Dallas | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | – | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 4–0 |
| Golden State | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | – | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 |
| Houston | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Indiana | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| L.A. Clippers | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| L.A. Lakers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | – | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Memphis | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Miami | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Milwaukee | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | – | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Minnesota | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| New Jersey | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–4 |
| New Orleans | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| New York | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Oklahoma City | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Orlando | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | – | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Philadelphia | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Phoenix | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Portland | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | – | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| Sacramento | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | – | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 |
| Toronto | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Utah | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 |
| Washington | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — |

## Player statistics
### Ragular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Corey Brewer | SG | 82 | 82 | 2,482 | 279 | 193 | 117 | 29 | 1,066 | 30.3 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .4 | 13.0 |
| Ramon Sessions | PG | 82 | 1 | 1,732 | 214 | 258 | 55 | 5 | 674 | 21.1 | 2.6 | 3.1 | .7 | .1 | 8.2 |
| Jonny Flynn | PG | 81 | 81 | 2,339 | 191 | 356 | 82 | 2 | 1,094 | 28.9 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 13.5 |
| Damien Wilkins | SF | 80 | 31 | 1,585 | 249 | 135 | 66 | 25 | 451 | 19.8 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 5.6 |
| Al Jefferson | C | 76 | 76 | 2,463 | 703 | 137 | 63 | 98 | 1,301 | 32.4 | 9.3 | 1.8 | .8 | 1.3 | 17.1 |
| Ryan Gomes | SF | 76 | 64 | 2,210 | 348 | 124 | 62 | 16 | 832 | 29.1 | 4.6 | 1.6 | .8 | .2 | 10.9 |
| Wayne Ellington | SG | 76 | 1 | 1,384 | 159 | 74 | 20 | 5 | 505 | 18.2 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .3 | .1 | 6.6 |
| Ryan Hollins | C | 73 | 27 | 1,223 | 207 | 51 | 19 | 38 | 447 | 16.8 | 2.8 | .7 | .3 | .5 | 6.1 |
| Aleksandar Pavlović | SF | 71 | 0 | 877 | 117 | 58 | 23 | 6 | 263 | 12.4 | 1.6 | .8 | .3 | .1 | 3.7 |
| Kevin Love | PF | 60 | 22 | 1,714 | 658 | 136 | 43 | 23 | 842 | 28.6 | 11.0 | 2.3 | .7 | .4 | 14.0 |
| Oleksiy Pecherov | C | 44 | 5 | 447 | 124 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 197 | 10.2 | 2.8 | .3 | .2 | .3 | 4.5 |
| Nathan Jawai | C | 39 | 2 | 412 | 104 | 24 | 10 | 9 | 124 | 10.6 | 2.7 | .6 | .3 | .2 | 3.2 |
| Brian Cardinal | PF | 29 | 0 | 267 | 29 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 48 | 9.2 | 1.0 | .8 | .3 | .1 | 1.7 |
| Darko Miličić$^†$ | C | 24 | 18 | 614 | 133 | 43 | 18 | 33 | 199 | 25.6 | 5.5 | 1.8 | .8 | 1.4 | 8.3 |
| Alando Tucker$^†$ | SF | 4 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6.3 | .8 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Jason Hart$^†$ | PG | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.