2020–21 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 2020–21 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 32nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) On February 21, 2021, the Timberwolves fired head coach Ryan Saunders after three seasons with the team.^[1] On the following day, Toronto Raptors assistant head coach Chris Finch was announced as the next head coach.^[2] After a loss to the Sacramento Kings on April 21, followed by the San Antonio Spurs defeating the Detroit Pistons the next day, the Timberwolves were eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight year.^[3]

2020–21 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coach	Ryan Saunders (fired) Chris Finch
General manager	Vacant
Owner(s)	Glen Taylor
Arena	Target Center
Results
Record	23–49 (.319)
Place	Division: 4th (Northwest) Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Bally Sports North
Radio	WCCO
< 2019–20 2021–22 >

Draft

Main article: 2020 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School / club team
1	1	Anthony Edwards	Guard	United States	Georgia
1	17	Aleksej Pokuševski	Forward	Serbia	Olympiacos
2	33	Daniel Oturu	Center	United States	Minnesota

Before the start of the 2020 NBA draft period, the Timberwolves' selection was held stuck as the #3 selection of the draft with their record being the third-worst of all NBA teams the prior season at 19–45 before the NBA suspended their season on March 12, 2020, and cancelled the rest of Minnesota's season by June 5.^[4] As a result, they held the best odds to move up at #1 alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors for the 2020 draft, though also held odds to fall as low as the #6 pick of the draft. This year, the Timberwolves ended the 2020 NBA draft lottery with the #1 selection, moving up two spots from their initial projection. In addition to their first-round pick, the Timberwolves also held their second-round pick and gained a first-round picks from a previous trade involving the Brooklyn Nets. They traded the Number 17 pick and James Johnson for Ricky Rubio, the number 25 and 28 overall picks.^[5] They then traded the number 25 and 33 overall picks for the 23rd overall pick.^[5]

Roster

2020–21 Minnesota Timberwolves roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 5 Malik Beasley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1996-11-26 Florida State G/F 23 Jarrett Culver 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-02-20 Texas Tech F/C 17 Ed Davis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1989-06-05 North Carolina G 1 Anthony Edwards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 2001-08-05 Georgia F 41 Juan Hernangómez 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1995-09-28 Spain F 10 Jake Layman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1994-03-07 Maryland F 3 Jaden McDaniels 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-09-29 Washington G 6 Jordan McLaughlin (TW) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996–04–09 USC G 4 Jaylen Nowell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-09 Washington G 20 Josh Okogie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1998-09-01 Georgia Tech C 11 Naz Reid 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 264 lb (120 kg) 1999-08-26 LSU G 9 Ricky Rubio 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1990-10-21 Spain G 0 D'Angelo Russell  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1996-02-23 Ohio State C 32 Karl-Anthony Towns 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1995-11-15 Kentucky F 8 Jarred Vanderbilt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1999-04-03 Kentucky

Head coach Chris Finch Assistant(s) Joseph Blair Kevin Burleson Bryan Gates Kevin Hanson Pablo Prigioni David Vanterpool (Associate HC) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Updated: February 22, 2021

Standings

Division

Northwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
z – Utah Jazz	52	20	.722	–	31‍–‍5	21‍–‍15	7–5	72
x – Denver Nuggets	47	25	.653	5.0	25‍–‍11	22‍–‍14	9–3	72
x – Portland Trail Blazers	42	30	.583	10.0	20‍–‍16	22‍–‍14	6–6	72
Minnesota Timberwolves	23	49	.319	29.0	13‍–‍23	10‍–‍26	5–7	72
Oklahoma City Thunder	22	50	.306	30.0	10‍–‍26	12‍–‍24	3–9	72

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z – Utah Jazz *	52	20	.722	–	72
2	y – Phoenix Suns *	51	21	.708	1.0	72
3	x – Denver Nuggets	47	25	.653	5.0	72
4	x – Los Angeles Clippers	47	25	.653	5.0	72
5	y – Dallas Mavericks *	42	30	.583	10.0	72
6	x – Portland Trail Blazers	42	30	.583	10.0	72
7	x – Los Angeles Lakers	42	30	.583	10.0	72
8	pi – Golden State Warriors	39	33	.542	13.0	72
9	x – Memphis Grizzlies	38	34	.528	14.0	72
10	pi – San Antonio Spurs	33	39	.458	19.0	72
11	New Orleans Pelicans	31	41	.431	21.0	72
12	Sacramento Kings	31	41	.431	21.0	72
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	23	49	.319	29.0	72
14	Oklahoma City Thunder	22	50	.306	30.0	72
15	Houston Rockets	17	55	.236	35.0	72

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• y – Clinched division title
• x – Clinched playoff spot
• pb – Clinched play-in spot
• o – Eliminated from playoff contention
• * – Division leader

Game log

Preseason

2020 preseason game log Total: 1–2 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–0)
Preseason: 1–2 (home: 0–2; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 12 Memphis L 105–107 Jaylen Nowell (22) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Malik Beasley (3) Target Center 0 0–1 2 December 14 Memphis L 104–123 D'Angelo Russell (19) Karl-Anthony Towns (9) Karl-Anthony Towns (5) Target Center 0 0–2 3 December 17 @ Dallas W 129–127 Karl-Anthony Towns (20) Malik Beasley (11) Ricky Rubio (4) American Airlines Center 0 1–2
2020–21 season schedule

Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 23–49 (Home: 13–23; Road: 10–26)
December: 2–2 (home: 1–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 23 Detroit W 111–101 Malik Beasley (23) Karl-Anthony Towns (11) Karl-Anthony Towns (7) Target Center 0 1–0 2 December 26 @ Utah W 116–111 D'Angelo Russell (25) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) D'Angelo Russell (6) Vivint Smart Home Arena 0 2–0 3 December 27 @ L. A. Lakers L 91–127 Anthony Edwards (15) Jarred Vanderbilt (7) Jarred Vanderbilt (6) Staples Center 0 2–1 4 December 29 @ L. A. Clippers L 101–124 D'Angelo Russell (22) Jarrett Culver (10) Jordan McLaughlin (9) Staples Center 0 2–2
January: 3–12 (home: 3–7; road: 0–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 January 1 Washington L 109–130 Malik Beasley (21) Ed Davis (10) Ricky Rubio (5) Target Center 0 2–3 6 January 3 Denver L 109–124 Malik Beasley (25) Ed Davis (8) D'Angelo Russell (7) Target Center 0 2–4 7 January 5 @ Denver L 116–123 D'Angelo Russell (33) Willy Hernangómez (8) D'Angelo Russell (11) Ball Arena 0 2–5 8 January 7 @ Portland L 117–135 Anthony Edwards (26) Jarred Vanderbilt (10) Ricky Rubio (10) Moda Center 0 2–6 9 January 9 San Antonio L 122–125 (OT) Malik Beasley (29) Karl-Anthony Towns (13) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 0 2–7 10 January 10 San Antonio W 96–88 D'Angelo Russell (27) Willy Hernangómez (8) Ricky Rubio (6) Target Center 0 3–7 11 January 13 Memphis L 107–118 Malik Beasley (28) Karl-Anthony Towns (14) D'Angelo Russell (8) Target Center 0 3–8 – January 15 Memphis Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: May 5)[6] 12 January 18 @ Atlanta L 97–108 D'Angelo Russell (31) Jarred Vanderbilt (8) D'Angelo Russell (7) State Farm Arena 0 3–9 13 January 20 Orlando L 96–97 D'Angelo Russell (19) Jaden McDaniels (8) Jordan McLaughlin (7) Target Center 0 3–10 14 January 22 Atlanta L 98–116 Malik Beasley (17) Naz Reid (8) McLaughlin, Rubio (5) Target Center 3–11 15 January 23 New Orleans W 120–110 Naz Reid (20) Jarred Vanderbilt (11) Ricky Rubio (7) Target Center 0 4–11 16 January 25 @ Golden State L 108–130 Malik Beasley (30) Naz Reid (10) Ricky Rubio (11) Chase Center 0 4–12 17 January 27 @ Golden State L 111–123 Beasley, Edwards (25) Vanderbilt, Reid (7) Rubio, McLaughlin (5) Chase Center 0 4–13 18 January 29 Philadelphia L 94–118 Malik Beasley (22) Ed Davis (8) Ricky Rubio (5) Target Center 0 4–14 19 January 31 Cleveland W 109–104 Edwards, Beasley (23) Jarred Vanderbilt (8) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 0 5–14
February: 2–14 (home: 0–5; road: 2–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 20 February 1 @ Cleveland L 98–100 D'Angelo Russell (18) Jarred Vanderbilt (9) 3 players (4) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 0 5–15 21 February 3 @ San Antonio L 108–111 Malik Beasley (29) Reid, Vanderbilt (11) Ricky Rubio (7) AT&T Center 0 5–16 22 February 5 @ Oklahoma City W 106–103 Malik Beasley (24) Reid, Vanderbilt (9) Ricky Rubio (8) Chesapeake Energy Arena 0 6–16 23 February 6 @ Oklahoma City L 118–120 Naz Reid (29) Anthony Edwards (8) Rubio, McLaughlin (6) Chsesapeake Energy Arena 0 6–17 24 February 8 @ Dallas L 122–127 Malik Beasley (30) Malik Beasley (9) Ricky Rubio (7) American Airlines Center 1,000 6–18 25 February 10 L. A. Clippers L 112–119 Naz Reid (23) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Ricky Rubio (10) Target Center 0 6–19 26 February 12 @ Charlotte L 114–120 Malik Beasley (31) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Ricky Rubio (9) Spectrum Center 0 6–20 27 February 14 @ Toronto W 116–112 Towns, Beasley (20) Karl-Anthony Towns (11) Malik Beasley (6) Amalie Arena 0 7–20 28 February 16 L. A. Lakers L 104–112 Anthony Edwards (28) Jarred Vanderbilt (13) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 0 7–21 29 February 17 Indiana L 128–134 (OT) Karl-Anthony Towns (30) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Ricky Rubio (13) Target Center 0 7–22 30 February 19 Toronto L 81–86 Karl-Anthony Towns (19) Karl-Anthony Towns (13) Jordan McLaughlin (7) Target Center 0 7–23 31 February 21 @ New York L 99–103 Karl-Anthony Towns (27) Karl-Anthony Towns (15) Ricky Rubio (6) Madison Square Garden 0 7–24 32 February 23 @ Milwaukee L 112–139 Towns, Beasley (26) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Fiserv Forum 1,800 7–25 33 February 24 @ Chicago L 126–133 (OT) Malik Beasley (25) Anthony Edwards (9) Ricky Rubio (10) United Center 0 7–26 34 February 27 @ Washington L 112–128 Karl-Anthony Towns (23) Jarred Vanderbilt (12) Karl-Anthony Towns (5) Capital One Arena 0 7–27 35 February 28 Phoenix L 99–118 Anthony Edwards (24) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Ricky Rubio (6) Target Center 0 7–28
March: 5–8 (home: 3–5; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 36 March 3 Charlotte L 102–135 Ricky Rubio (20) Karl-Anthony Towns (15) Ricky Rubio (9) Target Center 0 7–29 37 March 11 @ New Orleans W 135–105 Jaylen Nowell (28) Karl-Anthony Towns (7) Ricky Rubio (8) Smoothie King Center 3,700 8–29 38 March 13 Portland L 121–125 Karl-Anthony Towns (34) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 0 8–30 39 March 14 Portland W 114–112 Anthony Edwards (34) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Target Center 0 9–30 40 March 16 @ L. A. Lakers L 121–137 Towns, Edwards (29) Karl-Anthony Towns (6) Ricky Rubio (12) Staples Center 0 9–31 41 March 18 @ Phoenix W 123–119 Anthony Edwards (42) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Karl-Anthony Towns (8) Phoenix Suns Arena 3,172 10–31 42 March 19 @ Phoenix L 101–113 Karl-Anthony Towns (24) Anthony Edwards (10) Ricky Rubio (10) Phoenix Suns Arena 3,124 10–32 43 March 22 Oklahoma City L 103–112 Karl-Anthony Towns (33) Karl-Anthony Towns (10) Ricky Rubio (11) Target Center 0 10–33 44 March 24 Dallas L 108–128 Anthony Edwards (29) Naz Reid (6) Ricky Rubio (7) Target Center 0 10–34 45 March 26 Houston W 107–101 Karl-Anthony Towns (29) Karl-Anthony Towns (16) Rubio, Towns (8) Target Center 0 11–34 46 March 27 Houston L 107–129 Edwards, Towns (27) Karl-Anthony Towns (15) Ricky Rubio (10) Target Center 0 11–35 47 March 29 @ Brooklyn L 107–112 Karl-Anthony Towns (31) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) Karl-Anthony Towns (5) Barclays Center 1,732 11–36 48 March 31 New York W 102–101 Anthony Edwards (24) Karl-Anthony Towns (17) Ricky Rubio (7) Target Center 0 12–36
April: 8–8 (home: 5–2; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 49 April 2 @ Memphis L 108–120 Karl-Anthony Towns (30) Karl-Anthony Towns (16) Anthony Edwards (6) Target Center 0 12–37 50 April 3 @ Philadelphia L 113–122 Karl-Anthony Towns (39) Karl-Anthony Towns (14) Jordan McLaughlin (9) Wells Fargo Center 3,071 12–38 51 April 5 Sacramento W 116–106 D'Angelo Russell (25) Karl-Anthony Towns (13) Edwards, Rubio, Towns (5) Target Center 1,436 13–38 52 April 7 @ Indiana L 137–141 Karl-Anthony Towns (32) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) Ricky Rubio (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse Limited seating 13–39 53 April 9 @ Boston L 136–145 (OT) Karl-Anthony Towns (30) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) D'Angelo Russell (8) TD Garden 2,298 13–40 54 April 11 Chicago W 121–117 Russell, Towns (27) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) Ricky Rubio (9) Target Center 1,436 14–40 — April 12 Brooklyn Postponed (Killing of Daunte Wright) (Makeup date: April 13)[7] 55 April 13 Brooklyn L 97–127 Anthony Edwards (27) Anthony Edwards (8) Jarred Vanderbilt (3) Target Center 0 14–41 56 April 14 Milwaukee L 105–130 Anthony Edwards (24) Naz Reid (15) D'Angelo Russell (6) Target Center 0 14–42 57 April 16 Miami W 119–111 Karl-Anthony Towns (24) Naz Reid (7) Edwards, Towns, Russell (5) Target Center 1,638 15–42 58 April 18 @ L. A. Clippers L 105–124 Anthony Edwards (23) Naz Reid (7) Rubio, Towns (5) Staples Center 1,734 15–43 59 April 20 @ Sacramento W 134–120 Edwards, Russell (28) Karl-Anthony Towns (18) Ricky Rubio (11) Golden 1 Center 0 16–43 60 April 21 @ Sacramento L 125–128 Karl-Anthony Towns (26) Naz Reid (7) D'Angelo Russell (9) Golden 1 Center 0 16–44 61 April 24 @ Utah W 101–96 Karl-Anthony Towns (24) Karl-Anthony Towns (12) Anthony Edwards (4) Vivint Arena 5,546 17–44 62 April 26 Utah W 105–104 Karl-Anthony Towns (21) Karl-Anthony Towns (11) D'Angelo Russell (12) Target Center 1,638 18–44 63 April 27 @ Houston W 114–107 Karl-Anthony Towns (31) Anthony Edwards (9) D'Angelo Russell (7) Toyota Center 3,225 19–44 64 April 29 Golden State W 126–114 Ricky Rubio (26) Karl-Anthony Towns (11) D'Angelo Russell (8) Target Center 1,638 20–44
May: 3–5 (home: 1–4; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 65 May 1 @ New Orleans L 136–140 Anthony Edwards (29) Karl-Anthony Towns (14) D'Angelo Russell (11) Target Center 1,638 20–45 66 May 5 Memphis L 135–139 Anthony Edwards (42) Naz Reid (7) D'Angelo Russell (14) Target Center 1,436 20–46 67 May 7 @ Miami L 112–121 Karl-Anthony Towns (27) Jarred Vanderbilt (11) Ricky Rubio (9) American Airlines Arena Limited seating 20–47 68 May 9 @ Orlando W 128–96 Russell, Towns (27) Anthony Edwards (10) D'Angelo Russell (7) Amway Center 4,086 21–47 69 May 11 @ Detroit W 119–100 Karl-Anthony Towns (28) Towns, Vanderbilt (8) D'Angelo Russell (10) Little Caesars Arena 750 22–47 70 May 13 Denver L 103–114 Anthony Edwards (29) Karl-Anthony Towns (11) Edwards, Rubio (5) Target Center 1,638 22–48 71 May 15 Boston L 108–124 Karl-Anthony Towns (24) Karl-Anthony Towns (14) Edwards, Russell (6) Target Center 1,638 22–49 72 May 16 Dallas W 136–121 Anthony Edwards (30) Jarred Vanderbilt (12) D'Angelo Russell (10) Target Center 1,638 23–49
2020–21 season schedule

Player statistics

Regular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anthony Edwards	SG	72	55	2,314	336	211	82	36	1,392	32.1	4.7	2.9	1.1	.5	19.3
Naz Reid	C	70	15	1,347	322	72	34	76	784	19.2	4.6	1.0	.5	1.1	11.2
Ricky Rubio	PG	68	51	1,772	223	433	98	4	582	26.1	3.3	6.4	1.4	.1	8.6
Jarred Vanderbilt	PF	64	30	1,139	368	76	64	46	344	17.8	5.8	1.2	1.0	.7	5.4
Jaden McDaniels	PF	63	27	1,511	232	71	35	60	427	24.0	3.7	1.1	.6	1.0	6.8
Josh Okogie	SG	59	37	1,197	156	63	54	28	316	20.3	2.6	1.1	.9	.5	5.4
Juancho Hernangómez	PF	52	6	900	205	35	19	7	375	17.3	3.9	.7	.4	.1	7.2
Jordan McLaughlin	PG	51	2	938	108	193	51	6	256	18.4	2.1	3.8	1.0	.1	5.0
Karl-Anthony Towns	C	50	50	1,689	529	225	39	57	1,239	33.8	10.6	4.5	.8	1.1	24.8
Jake Layman	SF	45	11	627	67	28	29	19	231	13.9	1.5	.6	.6	.4	5.1
D'Angelo Russell	PG	42	26	1,196	111	244	45	18	796	28.5	2.6	5.8	1.1	.4	19.0
Jaylen Nowell	SG	42	0	759	95	62	22	12	379	18.1	2.3	1.5	.5	.3	9.0
Malik Beasley	SG	37	36	1,214	162	88	30	7	724	32.8	4.4	2.4	.8	.2	19.6
Jarrett Culver	SG	34	7	499	104	24	17	9	180	14.7	3.1	.7	.5	.3	5.3
Ed Davis	C	23	7	299	115	21	13	13	48	13.0	5.0	.9	.6	.6	2.1
Ashton Hagans	PG	2	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

Transactions

Main article: List of 2020–21 NBA season transactions

Trades

November 19, 2020[8]	To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Mathias Lessort 2023 second-round pick	To Los Angeles Clippers Draft rights to Daniel Oturu
November 20, 2020[5] (Three-team trade)	To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Jaden McDaniels Ricky Rubio	To Oklahoma City Thunder Draft rights to Aleksej Pokuševski James Johnson 2024 second-round pick
	To New York Knicks Draft rights to Immanuel Quickley
November 19, 2020[9]	To Minnesota Timberwolves Ed Davis	To New York Knicks Jacob Evans Omari Spellman 2026 second-round pick

Free agency

Re-signed

Player	Signed	Ref.
Malik Beasley	4-year contract worth $60 million (November 25, 2020)	[10]
Juancho Hernangómez	2-year contract worth $21 million (November 27, 2020)	[11]
Jordan McLaughlin	Two-way contract (December 17, 2020)	[12]

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team	Ref.
Ashton Hagans	Two-way contract (November 19, 2020)	Kentucky Wildcats	[13]
Tyler Cook	Exhibit 10 contract (November 29, 2020)	Denver Nuggets	[14]
Ade Murkey	Exhibit 10 contract (December 2, 2020)	Denver Pioneers	[15]
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson	Exhibit 10 contract (December 3, 2020)	Toronto Raptors	[16]
Charlie Brown Jr.	Exhibit 10 contract (December 10, 2020)	Atlanta Hawks	[17]
Zylan Cheatham	Exhibit 10 contract (December 18, 2020)	Oklahoma City Thunder	[18]

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team	Ref.
Ade Murkey	Waived (December 18, 2020)	Iowa Wolves	[18]
Zylan Cheatham	Waived (December 19, 2020)	Iowa Wolves	[19]
Charlie Brown Jr.	Waived (December 19, 2020)	Iowa Wolves
Tyler Cook	Waived (December 19, 2020)	Iowa Wolves
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson	Waived (December 19, 2020)	Portland Trail Blazers
Ashton Hagans	Waived (February 13, 2021)	—	[20]