# 1989–90 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the Timberwolves' first season in the National Basketball Association. Nearly 30 years after the Lakers left Minneapolis for Los Angeles, California, the NBA returned to Minnesota with an expansion team known as the "Timberwolves"; the Orlando Magic also joined the NBA in 1989 via expansion. The team revealed their inaugural logo of a blue wolf with green eyes in front of a silver basketball, and new uniforms with the color scheme of blue, green, white, and silver.
In the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft, the Timberwolves selected veteran players like Rick Mahorn, Tyrone Corbin, Steve Johnson, Brad Lohaus and Scott Roth. The team also signed free agents Tony Campbell, who won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals, and rookie forward Sam Mitchell out of Mercer University; Mitchell was drafted by the Houston Rockets as a third-round draft pick in the 1985 NBA draft, but was released to free agency during the preseason, and previously played overseas in France and in the Continental Basketball Association. Other free agents included Tod Murphy, who previously played overseas in Spain, and Sidney Lowe.
However, Mahorn never played for the T-Wolves due to a contract dispute, and was later on traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Timberwolves received the tenth overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected point guard Pooh Richardson from the University of California, Los Angeles. The team hired Bill Musselman as their first ever head coach.
The Timberwolves made their regular season debut on November 3, 1989, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road, 106–94. Five days later, they made their home debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, losing to the Chicago Bulls, 96–84. Just two nights later, the T-Wolves would get their first win, defeating the 76ers in overtime, 125–118, on November 10. At mid-season, the team traded Lohaus to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Randy Breuer. The Timberwolves struggled in their first season, posting two nine-game losing streaks, and finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a 22–60 record.
Campbell led the team in scoring, averaging 23.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, and finishing in third place in Most Improved Player voting, while Corbin averaged 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game, and Mitchell provided the team with 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, reaching 20 or more points on 14 occasions as a 26 year-old rookie. In addition, Richardson contributed 11.4 points, 6.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Murphy provided with 8.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and Lowe contributed 2.3 points and 4.2 assists per game, despite shooting .319 in field-goal percentage.
The team's inaugural logo and uniforms both remained in use until 1996.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 10 | Pooh Richardson | PG | United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 34 | Gary Leonard | C | United States | Missouri |
| 2 | 38 | Doug West | SG | United States | Villanova |

## NBA expansion draft

Prior to the 1989 NBA draft, the NBA held a coin toss between the Timberwolves and the other new expansion team, the Orlando Magic, to determine their order for the NBA draft and the expansion draft. The Magic won the coin toss and chose to have the first pick in the expansion draft and pick 11th in the NBA draft, while the Timberwolves picked second in the expansion draft and 10th in the NBA draft.
The previous season's expansion teams, the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, were not involved in this year's expansion draft and did not lose any player.
| Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Previous Team |
| 2 | Rick Mahorn | F/C | United States | Detroit Pistons |
| 4 | Tyrone Corbin | G/F | United States | Phoenix Suns |
| 6 | Steve Johnson | F/C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 8 | Brad Lohaus | F/C | United States | Sacramento Kings |
| 10 | David Rivers | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 12 | Mark Davis | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 14 | Scott Roth | F | United States | San Antonio Spurs |
| 16 | Shelton Jones | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 18 | Eric White | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 20 | Maurice Martin | G/F | United States | Denver Nuggets |
| 22 | Gunther Behnke | C | West Germany | Cleveland Cavaliers |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | – | 34–7 | 22–19 | 19–9 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 1 | 36–5 | 19–22 | 21–7 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 9 | 30–11 | 17–24 | 17–11 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 13 | 28–13 | 15–26 | 15–13 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 15 | 31–10 | 10–31 | 13–15 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 34 | 17–24 | 5–36 | 6–22 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 37 | 13–28 | 6–35 | 7–21 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | 7 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 |
| 4 | x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 5 | x-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 8 | x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 9 | Seattle SuperSonics | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 26 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 33 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 23 | 59 | .280 | 40 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 44 |

### Record vs. opponents

1989–90 NBA records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NYK | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Boston | 3–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Charlotte | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 0–2 |
| Chicago | 5–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Cleveland | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–5 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Dallas | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | – | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Houston | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Indiana | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| L.A. Clippers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| L.A. Lakers | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Miami | 0–4 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Milwaukee | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Minnesota | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 1–1 |
| New Jersey | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | – | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| New York | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | – | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Orlando | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | – | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Philadelphia | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–3 | 5–0 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | – | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Sacramento | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | – | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | – | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | – | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Utah | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | – | 2–0 |
| Washington | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — |

### Game log
## Player statistics
### Ragular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Tony Campbell | SG | 82 | 81 | 3,164 | 451 | 213 | 111 | 31 | 1,903 | 38.6 | 5.5 | 2.6 | 1.4 | .4 | 23.2 |
| Tyrone Corbin | SF | 82 | 80 | 3,011 | 604 | 216 | 175 | 41 | 1,203 | 36.7 | 7.4 | 2.6 | 2.1 | .5 | 14.7 |
| Tod Murphy | C | 82 | 59 | 2,493 | 564 | 106 | 76 | 60 | 680 | 30.4 | 6.9 | 1.3 | .9 | .7 | 8.3 |
| Pooh Richardson | PG | 82 | 48 | 2,581 | 217 | 554 | 133 | 25 | 938 | 31.5 | 2.6 | 6.8 | 1.6 | .3 | 11.4 |
| Sidney Lowe | PG | 80 | 38 | 1,744 | 163 | 337 | 73 | 4 | 187 | 21.8 | 2.0 | 4.2 | .9 | .1 | 2.3 |
| Sam Mitchell | PF | 80 | 30 | 2,414 | 462 | 89 | 66 | 54 | 1,012 | 30.2 | 5.8 | 1.1 | .8 | .7 | 12.7 |
| Scott Roth | SF | 71 | 3 | 1,061 | 112 | 115 | 51 | 6 | 486 | 14.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | .7 | .1 | 6.8 |
| Donald Royal | SF | 66 | 0 | 746 | 137 | 43 | 32 | 8 | 387 | 11.3 | 2.1 | .7 | .5 | .1 | 5.9 |
| Doug West | SG | 52 | 0 | 378 | 70 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 135 | 7.3 | 1.3 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 2.6 |
| Randy Breuer$^†$ | C | 51 | 47 | 1,325 | 290 | 84 | 33 | 75 | 518 | 26.0 | 5.7 | 1.6 | .6 | 1.5 | 10.2 |
| Brad Lohaus$^†$ | PF | 28 | 24 | 590 | 110 | 62 | 14 | 22 | 210 | 21.1 | 3.9 | 2.2 | .5 | .8 | 7.5 |
| Gary Leonard | C | 22 | 0 | 127 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .0 | .1 | .4 | 1.5 |
| Brad Sellers$^†$ | PF | 14 | 0 | 113 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 47 | 8.1 | 1.4 | .1 | .4 | .2 | 3.4 |
| Adrian Branch | SF | 11 | 0 | 91 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 65 | 8.3 | 1.8 | .4 | .5 | .0 | 5.9 |
| Steve Johnson$^†$ | C | 4 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | .8 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.

## Awards and honors

* Pooh Richardson, NBA All-Rookie Team