In 1991, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still in their infancy. Only three years in the league, the baby NBA franchise had only won 66 of their first 246 games, including a 15-67 (.183) season in 1991. Following the 1991-92 season, the team was ready for as fresh a start as a third-year franchise can get by dealing Tony Campbell to the New York Knicks and Pooh Richardson and Sam Mitchell to the Indiana Pacers.
The Timberwolves finished with the worst record in the NBA and, prior to the 1991-92 season, only three teams had finished with fewer wins in NBA History: The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9), the 1986-87 LA Clippers (12), and the 1982-83 Houston Rockets (14).
Two of those teams had the top picks in the upcoming drafts. In 1973, the 76ers took Doug Collins (who, with Julius Erving, would eventually lead Philadelphia to the NBA Finals in 1977) and in 1983, the Houston Rockets, one year removed from the NBA Finals, had the first of back-to-back first overall picks (They took the Twin Towers; Ralph Sampson in '83 and Hakeem Olojowan in '84).
The Timberwolves were ready for their turnaround.
The Timberwolves were the only team to win fewer
than 20 games in the 1991-92 NBA Season.
Back to the Houston Rockets for a second, because the Rockets have a huge impact on the Wolves draft position woes.
The Houston Rockets and the Tanking Scandals
The Houston Rockets were in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 1981, matching up against Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Cedric Maxwell, Robert Parrish and the legendary Celtics. The Celtics had been a thorn in the side of the Rockets forever. A year after relocating from San Diego in 1971, Houston moved from the Western Conference to the East, and the Celtics had knocked them out of the playoffs in two of their four appearances (1975 and 1980). Prior to the 1981 NBA season, Houston had moved back to the Western Conference and, despite a 40-42 regular season record, found themselves matched up against the familiar Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Larry Bird and the Celtics were too much for Houston
in the 1981 NBA Finals
The Celtics won the series in 6 games for their 14th NBA championship.
The Rockets won 46 games in 1981 behind an MVP season from Moses Malone, but they lost to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs.
That is when the floor drops out.
Malone signed a six-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, who had just lost the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston went from a 46 win team in 1982 to a 14 win team in 1983. Some attribute the -32 win differential to Moses Malone going ring-chasing in Philadelphia. Some attribute it to a 7' 4" prospect out of Virginia.
Ralph Sampson, a three-time Naismith Award winner and two-time Wooden Award winner, declared for the draft after graduating from Virginia in 1983. He considered declaring after his junior season, but the top overall pick came down to a coin flip between the LA Lakers and the San Diego Clippers. Rather than risk playing for the Clippers (the Lakers won the top pick and selected James Worthy. The Clippers took journeyman Terry Cummings second), Sampson returned for his senior season.
After being selected #1 overall by Houston in 1983, Sampson averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds. Houston started the season 20-29...not great but respectable considering they had 14 total wins a season prior. But the real red flag that stands out is their 9-27 record the last 36 games.
The reason? The Rockets decided to "evaluate other talent on the team". I guess practice wasn't enough time to evaluate the guys on the bench. What they were really had their eye on was the 1984 Draft Class.
Introduction of the Lottery
"The lottery was created to eliminate the perceived incentive to lose games. Obviously, the Rockets became the team on which most people focused. Even if teams were not losing on purpose to better their position, the perception did exist." -David Stern, NBA Commissioner
In 1983, the top pick was determined by a coin flip between the worst two teams in each conference. So, if you had the worst record you had a 50/50 shot of getting the top pick in the draft.
That is when league officials began setting new rules in motion to dissuade "tanking".
Tanking is when a team intentionally loses games to have better draft position, and the Rockets were obviously doing it. It was a no-brainer with some of the top talent of the decade ready to come into the NBA: John Stockton from Gonzaga, Charles Barkley from Auburn, Alvin Robertson from Arkansas, Hakeen Olajuwon from Houston and Michael Jordan from North Carolina.
Together, Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwan won
back-to-back NBA Championships in the mid-90s.
The Rockets had their pick out of everybody. The Rockets decided to pass on the top guard in the draft (Michael Jordan) and double-down on the big man, selecting Hakeem Olojuwan from the University of Houston.
The reloaded Rockets would return to the NBA Finals in 1986, only to lose again to the Boston Celtics.
After the 1984 NBA Draft, the NBA had had enough of the tanking rumors clouding the game and affecting the quality of their product. Beginning in 1985, the league went to a Lottery system,where teams with the worst record still had the best chance to land the top overall pick, but weren't guaranteed anything.
However, the first NBA Draft Lottery is surrounded in a dark cloud as well. Many people believed that the NBA and David Stern rigged the 1985 NBA Draft in favor of the large-market New York Knicks, who had the third-best odds of being awarded the top pick. New York selected coveted big man Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown.
The 1985 NBA Draft is a whole 'nother topic, but
you can judge for yourself if the NBA used the lottery
to rig where players went.
Over the next six seasons, only two of the worst teams earned the top pick:
The 1992 NBA Draft
Now, we catch up to the 1992 NBA Draft. The Timberwolves had the best chance to land the top overall pick, and there was a can't miss player at the top.Shaquille O'Neal was a monster like the NBA hadn't seen before. The powerful 7'1" 325 lb center from LSU had NBA teams salivating, including Timberwolves head coach Jimmy Rodgers.
The consolation prize was the second pick and the opportunity to draft another big man to build around, Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning.
Orlando (21-61) won the top pick and drafted Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal. Charlotte (31-51) won the second pick and drafted Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning. The Wolves (15-67) were awarded the third pick in the draft and selected...
...Duke star Christian Laettner.
Despite being the the third overall pick in the draft, Laettner is still defined by his college days and is remember for his game-winning shot against Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Tournament. He would put up decent numbers during his time in Minnesota (17 points per game), but the Wolves only won 60 games over the next three seasons with Laettner on the team. He developed a reputation as a locker room distraction on losing teams (the guy had never played on a losing team before coming to Minnesota) and was eventually traded to Atlanta for Andrew Lang and an old Spud Webb.
Shaq would win 4 championships over his career and established himself as the premier center of the 21st century. 'Zo was an elite defender and would win a ring (with Shaq) in Miami in 2006.
But don't forget: Christian Laettner was on the
1992 Dream Team.
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