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One NBA Franchise Missed Out on Blockbuster Stephen Curry Signing Twice, and Has 15% Success Rate in Reaching Playoffs Ever Since

Published 06/29/2022, 11:00 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been at the forefront of much ridicule from the NBA community in the last decade after the news of them refusing to draft Stephen Curry in 2009 went viral. In fact, the Timberwolves’ front office missed out on two golden opportunities to sign Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA draft.

The franchise’s terrible draft record is under the microscope once again after Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in a six-game series to bag their fourth NBA championship in eight years. On the other hand, the Timberwolves perished in the first round of the playoffs this year against the Grizzlies.

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The team has accumulated a terrible record in the last decade when it comes to making it to the playoffs. In fact, they have only made it to the playoffs two times since the 2009 draft.

The Timberwolves ignored Stephen Curry twice in the 2009 draft

The Golden State Warriors drafted Stephen Curry as the seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft. Meanwhile, Minnesota Timberwolves had two picks before that. But they ignored the 6’3″ guard from Davidson who would change the course of the league in the future.

USA Today via Reuters

As a matter of fact, they chose Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn as the fifth and sixth picks ahead of Steph. The rest of the story is pretty well-known to NBA fans.

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However, Steph Curry is not the only splash brother that the Timberwolves ignored. In fact, they refused to draft Klay Thompson in 2011. Therefore, the Timberwolves management could only sigh in regret as Steph and Klay created a dynasty in Golden State.

Klay Thompson’s father, Mychal Thompson, once aptly summed up the Timberwolves’ predicament. The veteran baller said that the Dubs should give Minnesota a complimentary ring for their past draft gifts.

The future for Minnesota Timberwolves

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However, the mistakes of the Timberwolves’ front office don’t end there. After drafting Kevin Garnett in 1995, the franchise failed to put suitable pieces around him. In fact, Garnett carried them to eight consecutive playoffs without any further success.

Moreover, they also failed to draft quality players like Russell Westbrook, CJ McCollum, Jamal Murray, DeMarcus Cousins, and Metta World Peace among others. They even traded bright prospects like Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins.

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However, the Timberwolves’ future is looking pretty bright. With Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards on the roster, they could go a long way. But their front office has to make better decisions.

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Written by:

Satagni Sikder

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Satagni Sikder is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He has a Master's degree in English from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and has been following the NBA since 2017. Moreover, he supports the Dallas Mavericks, and unsurprisingly, Luka Doncic is his favorite player.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima