1989–90 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the first season for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association. Nearly 30 years after the Lakers left Minneapolis, Minnesota 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 small 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 Timberwolves 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 also hired Bill Musselman as their first ever head coach.

The Timberwolves made their NBA 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 Timberwolves 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 former University of Minnesota center, Randy Breuer. The Timberwolves struggled in their inaugural season, posting two nine-game losing streaks, and finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a record of 22 wins and 60 losses.

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.