Minnesota is one of the seven states in the interior of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north, Lake Superior to the east, Wisconsin across the Mississippi River, Iowa to the south, and South and North Dakota to the west. The extreme north point of the continental United States (49°23 minutes north latitude) is in this state, hence Minnesota's nickname the North Star State. With an area of 219,000 square kilometers, it ranks 12th among the 50 states. The population 5167101. The capital is São Paulo. This state is also known as the "State of the Northern Star". The motto is "Star of the North".

Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota, USA, located in the southeastern part of the state, straddling both sides of the Mississippi River. It has an area of 142.5 square kilometers and a population of 368,000. It is bordered by São Paulo to the east,

It forms the famous twin cities, including the nearby suburbs, with an area of 12,626 square kilometers and a population of more than half of the total population of the state.

There are two famous NBA teams here. The first is the Minneapolis Lakers, and the second is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, the former is the predecessor of the current Los Angeles Lakers.

Since the Minneapolis Lakers joined the NBA in 1948, the Lakers have won five championships in six years, and the Lakers' "first dynasty" came into being. George McCann is the founder of the Lakers' "First Dynasty." At 2.08 meters tall, McCann was not the oldest man at the time, but he was unbeatable in the box. McCann won his first scoring title with an average of 28.3 points per game in his debut season, McCann contributed 40 points in the first game of the finals, Auerbach had to instruct Hemson to charge McCann, and finally fractured McCann's wrist joint in the fourth game, but McCann, who was in a cast, was more courageous, flying with a big elbow, no one dared to stop him, and scored 303 points in 10 playoff games, and the Minneapolis Lakers won the championship. In 1947, in a game against the Syracuse Nationals, four Lakers players were fouled to the bench and relied on his 40 points to successfully defend the Lakers' title. In the 1951-1952 season, the NBA even deliberately expanded the width of the three-second zone from 6 feet to 12 feet in order to limit his scoring (a treatment was also enjoyed by Chamberlain). The Lakers grew in strength after acquiring McCann, winning the NBA championship in their first year of existence in 1947. In 1948, the Lakers jumped to the predecessor of the NBA, ABA, and the NBA era of the Lakers began. In 1949, the Lakers defeated the Washington Capitol to win the BAA championship. At the end of the season, the BAA merged with the NBL to form the NBA, and the Lakers won their first championship after changing their name to the NBA. But in the 1950-1951 season, the Lakers lost 3-1 to the Rochester Royals and missed the chance to win three consecutive championships. From 1951 to 1954, the Lakers won the first three-game winning championship in NBA history. But after that, the Lakers began to decline. Due to a plane crash, the Lakers owner made a painful decision to relocate to Los Angeles in 1960. Since then, there has been no Minneapolis Lakers. For 29 years, Minnesota didn't have a team.

But by 1989, things had taken a turn for the worse, and the Minnesotans formed the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989-90 as part of the NBA's two-step expansion plan, along with the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets.

The Timberwolves, who only joined the NBA in 1989, are a youth guard in the NBA. In 1989, in their debut season, the team set an NBA record of 26,160 average attendance at home, but fans were often disappointed. In that season, the Timberwolves had a measly 22-60 record. Although a group of potential players have come to the team one after another, they still can't change the embarrassing situation of being beaten passively. The team has won fewer than 30 regular season games for seven consecutive years.

The turning point came in 1995, when the Timberwolves boldly selected high school player Kevin Garnett with the fifth pick in the first round. The 19-year-old rookie did not disappoint, leading the team to a historic breakthrough in the 1996-1997 season, reaching the playoffs. The first All-Star player in the team's history not only won the love of fans, but also received a six-year, sky-high contract of more than $120 million. The team then recruited two other good players for Garnett - Marbury and Gugliotta. The Timberwolves have established a style of play characterized by fast-flowing offense and passionate dunks, which is excellent to watch. The strength of the team and the box office appeal have been significantly improved. In 1998, Marbury and Gugliotta left the team, but with the addition of the experienced Brandon and rookie Szelbiak, the Timberwolves are still a force to be reckoned with.

In the 1999-2000 season, the Timberwolves surpassed their previous record of 50-32, which was the best in franchise history, and the 45-37 record in 1997-98. This is their third consecutive season with a win rate of more than half and the fourth consecutive playoff appearance. The whole team did quite well. But after June 2000, the Timberwolves didn't have a good time.

The 2000-2001 Timberwolves struggled a bit, and they couldn't do anything about what happened to the team. At the end of last season, the Timberwolves lost Malik Healy, who tragically lost his life in a car accident. In October, the NBA declared forward Joe Smith's contract with the Timberwolves null and void, and this is what became known as the "salary cap scandal." At that time, Fagan signed a pseudo-contract (two years, $1.75 million) with the Timberwolves that was well below Smith's market price, and then secretly asked the Timberwolves to promise Smith a long-term salary cap contract (seven years, $86 million) after two years, so as to collect a huge labor fee. As a result, the matter was discovered by the NBA official, and the Timberwolves were heavily fined, stripped of first-round picks for the next five seasons plus a high fine, and Joe Smith was also ordered to terminate his contract and become a free agent, and both sides lost. He then signed with the Detroit Pistons in November and returned a year later. The 2000-01 season saw new faces Chauncey Billups, Lafonso Ellis, Reggie Slater, Todd Day and later Philip López, who not only survived, but thrived. But they lost the future, and not having a first-round pick meant losing many, many things. Even so, the Minnesota Timberwolves are tenacious and can cause problems for most teams in the NBA, so the 76ers need to be careful.

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