Karl-Anthony Towns (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The Minnesota Timberwolves were the worst team in the NBA last year with a measly 16 wins. They could meet that total way before the All-Star break.
The T-Wolves just had a three-game losing streak but they started strong at 4-2. While that is still a small sample size, the team has shown that they have the building blocks of a future contender.
The stellar play of Andrew Wiggins, fast becoming a certified stud in the West, has made believers out of skeptics. Rant Sports is one of them.
The site mentions that the T-Wolves fans are usually bored after April, "but this is their moment to shock the world." Not too many sportswriters gave Minnesota a chance in the West and with good reason. The West is insanely competitive that a team with just a .500 record would probably not cut it. The jump from 16 wins to 43+ is not an easy one to make.
While winning the lottery was one major factor, it was not the arrival of first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns that made the basketball world notice. Wiggins and their other lottery pick last year, Zach Lavine have shown how much a year's experience can improve a player.
Ricky Rubio, the T-Wolves anointed leader after the departure of Kevin Love, seems to have grown into the role and even developed a shooting touch. With consecutive top overall picks Wiggins and Towns, they may be the next Big Three.
In a list compiled by ESPN of teams to make the playoffs in the West who failed to make it the year before, the T-Wolves were expected to be a contender but still behind teams like the OKC Thunder, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns. A month ago, no one would even consider them on that list.
