The Timberwolves Just Did Something No Minnesota Team Had EVER Done!
The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns Sunday night to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Wolves swept the series 4-0, which makes them an interesting answer to a future Minnesota sports trivia question.
As it turns out, the Wolves are the first team in Minnesota pro sports history to sweep a best-of-seven playoff series for games to none.
The Minneapolis Lakers, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota North Stars, Minnesota Lynx and Minnesota Wild have combined to play in 60 best-of-seven-game series and the Wolves' win in four was the first.
The Lakers played in Minnesota from 1949-1960 and played in seven best-of-seven series. While they did sweep a lot of best-of-three series, they never swept a best-of-seven.
The Twins came to Minnesota in 1961 and have since played in six best-of-seven series. While they did sweep the best-of-three series against Toronto last year, they've never done it in a best-of-seven.
The North Stars played in Minnesota from 1967 to 1993 and played in 23 best-of-seven series. They swept and handful of best-of-five series but never a best-of-seven.
The Lynx have existed since 1999 and the sheer fact the WNBA doesn't do best-of-seven series is likely the only reason the team hasn't done it yet.
Finally, the Wild has played in 16 best-of-seven series since joining the league as an expansion team in 2000. The have never swept any series in team history and are just 4-12 overall in playoff series.
Before this season, the Wolves had played in seven series that were best-of-seven and had never posted a sweep.