Al Jefferson: Minnesota's Franchise 2.0

The Wolves did little to defy expectations. Against the Nuggets, the Wolves were crushed by Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. With the Orlando Magic in town a couple nights later, the Wolves kept fans in suspense until the third quarter, when Dwight Howard overpowered Jefferson and slam-dunked his team to an eight-point victory. Facing the Washington Wizards a couple of games after that, the Wolves led going into the fourth quarter but still managed to lose by a dispiriting 16 points.

If Minnesota fans were wondering what a superstar looked like, LeBron James was there to show them in late November. Jefferson battled admirably in the low block, scoring on quick layups and putting back his teammates' misses to cobble together a 30-point night. But James scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter en route to a game-high 45, burying the Wolves, who lost for the eighth time in their first nine games.

After the game, Jefferson sat sullenly in front of his locker, which is cluttered with shoes, undershirts, and the NBA-standard-issue canister of spray-on deodorant. Standing before him were a dozen reporters. A skinny guy in the middle of the scrum spoke up. "Does this team have a leader?" he asked.

Jefferson met the reporter's eyes with malice in his own.

"What do you mean, does this team have a leader?" he shot back. "Of course this team's got leaders. It's got lots of leaders."

A few weeks later, the headline on the front page of the Star Tribune said it all: "Wolves: Worst team ever?" The article pointed out the Wolves' record-low TV ratings, the half-empty arena, and the team's pattern of falling apart in the second half. At 3-21, the article went on to note, the Wolves were in contention for the worst record in the history of the league. That mark, 9-73, was posted by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, a team described at the time by The Sporting News as "spare parts from other clubs, not necessarily in the best working order."

That evening, Jefferson led the Wolves to their fourth win of the season, a thrillingly improbable 131-118 manhandling of the Indiana Pacers, in which Jefferson scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. In the post-game press conference, Wolves coach Randy Wittman got after the Star Tribune reporter who wrote the story. "These kids, they've got feelings, too," he said. "We're all human beings, and that hurt."

But the Wolves did little to bolster their case, losing their next eight games. Worse, they weren't even keeping it close. For a nearly three game-stretch, they never led. And at an early January practice, teammates had to get between Sebastian Telfair and Marko Jaric before they came to blows. Jefferson's team was coming apart at the seams. His post-game comments after a thrashing by Dallas sounded like a spiritual with the hope wrung out of it. "We can't give up. It can't get no worse. We can't give up. We've got to keep fighting."

BUT A FUNNY thing happened on the way to rock bottom.

Playing in Denver in late January, the Wolves, who'd posted a 1-19 record on the road, gave the star-studded Nuggets and their silver-tongued coach a jolt. Coming out strong in the first half wasn't a huge surprise. But with a balanced attack that included both a solid game from Jefferson, who notched 20 points and 16 rebounds, as well as from mercurial marksman Rashad McCants, the Wolves carried a four-point lead with 76 seconds left.

As it quickly and brutally fell apart, Jefferson scrambled to keep his team in the game. But a hard foul that wasn't called on an attempted dunk, followed by a mad scramble to save a rebound only to be whistled out of bounds, stymied his efforts. Yes, Jefferson and the Wolves had lost again, and yes, their record stood at 5-34, but there was reason for hope: This was a heartbreaking loss, which is another way of saying it was a game they should have, or at least might have, won.

As the Wolves traveled to Oakland to play the bearded Baron Davis and his frenetic Golden State Warriors, they came with righteous passion. It served them well, as the Wolves took it to the Warriors, with Jefferson leading the team in the fourth quarter with six straight points. After Davis missed a last-second layup, the Wolves charged the court as if they'd just won the championship. It was a 109-108 victory, and no one could take it away from them.