The Walk-Off Wolves: Best Buzzer Beating Game Winners

Julius Randle became the ninth player in franchise history to score a game-winning shot during the final buzzer. Can you name the other eight?

Julius Randle hitting a game-winning shot before three nights without Minnesota Timberwolves basketball seems fair. It gives us all enough time to sit back and watch that replay over and over again. Replaying soon becomes reflection. Is it surprising that Anthony Edwards has yet to hit a game-winning, buzzer beating shot in his young career? He’s had quite a few go-ahead shots and more than his fair share of clutch moments. Perhaps we can count his game-winning block against the Pacers last year?

So if he hasn’t had one yet, then who has? By our count, there have only been seven players who have hit true, game-winning, buzzer beating shots in Timberwolves history. Sorry, Michael Beasley and Ricky Rubio fans. Any shots leaving time on the clock weren’t included in this list.

Join us as we dive deep into Wolves lore!

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Tom Hammonds — Ending ‘98 regular season with a W

Box score @ Milwaukee Bucks (4/19/98)

* The only video I could find from this obscure game was a part of this compilation above.

We start things off with a throwback to before my time following the Wolves. In Kevin Garnett’s junior season in the league, he was looking to return to the postseason for the second time in a row alongside co-star Stephon Marbury. It was the last game of the regular season and they were locked into the seventh seed with a first round matchup against the Seattle SuperSonics (RIP). Minnesota led by two points heading into the final quarter so Flip Saunders decided to give Garnett and Marbury the rest of the night off. Sophomore Ray Allen took advantage and was looking particularly dangerous, scoring 15 of his then career-high 40 points in the final period, looking to seek some revenge on the team that traded him for Garnett’s close friend, Marbury.

The Wolves clung onto a miniscule lead in the last minute and found themselves tied with 17 seconds left. Their final possession was a Reggie Jordan layup that got blocked by Milwaukee’s Michael Curry, but 30-year-old veteran forward Tom “Hambone” Hammonds astutely tracked down the offensive rebound before tossing up a wild turnaround corner jumper at the buzzer. Swish. This gave Minnesota a final infusion of good vibes before they entered the postseason.

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Malik Sealy — An eternal shot to enter the rafters

Box score vs Indiana Pacers (1/17/00)

This entry is probably the most emotional of the entire list. In the year following Marbury’s surprise departure from the Timberwolves, Garnett was down a best friend on the team. Enter: Malik Sealy. KG was able to find solace by playing with one of his idols in the very next season. Minnesota hosted the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers, who was destined for the 2000 NBA Finals.

Indiana held a lead for the majority of the second half, but Garnett put on an impressive display late. He uncorked a flurry of jumpers to score 15 of his then season-high 37 points in the final minutes, including three straight jumpers to tie the game. Crafty veteran Mark Jackson hoisted in a layup to go up 100-98 with just 1.7 seconds left, forcing Flip Saunders to call their final timeout. With KG drawing all the attention in the post, it left Sealy open just briefly to bank in this iconic shot.

Unfortunately, just over five months later, Sealy would be involved in a tragic car accident on his way home from celebrating Garnett’s 24th birthday. That next season, the Wolves would honor Sealy by raising his jersey into the Target Center rafters.

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Kevin Garnett — Vintage jumper is on Brand

Box score @ Los Angeles Clippers (12/7/03)

In what was technically the “most successful” season in Timberwolves history, things didn’t start so rosy. Minnesota pieced together a brand new backcourt featuring a 33-year-old Latrell Sprewell and 34-year-old Sam Cassell, to pair with a prime KG who was fresh off a season where he was the runner-up for the MVP award. They entered this game at just 11-8 after a taxing overtime victory against (you guessed it) the Sacramento Kings and looking forward to finishing a 11-day West Coast road trip against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers led for the majority of the game and even pushed their lead up to as much as 15 with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter. A much more daunting deficit in the early 2000’s compared to today’s game. However, Clippers guard, Doug Overton, tried to chase down Fred Hoiberg on a dunk attempt only to clobber “The Major.” He was assessed a flagrant-two penalty and tossed from the game, galvanizing the Wolves.

Sam Cassell then unleashed a 15-point flurry mostly from his patented mid-range jumper, tying the game with at 94-94 with 30.4 seconds remaining. Los Angeles tried to bleed the clock down, but Corey Maggette missed a layup attempt to give Minnesota the ball back with just 5.8 seconds remaining. KG faked a handoff to the red hot Cassell, then buried a classic long-two over Elton Brand for the win. Classic.

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Kevin Garnett — First of two game-winners

Box score vs Philadelphia 76ers (1/05/07)

The 2006-2007 season was the final year before Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics. It was a sad three years in which the Wolves failed to reach the playoffs as they wasted more of KG’s prime years. Contrary to former current team owner, Glen Taylor, KG still never phoned in his effort. The proof was on the court, as he dragged along a pitiful roster that started Ricky Davis, Mike James, Trenton Hassell, and Mark Blount alongside him to a 32-50 record. He played 76 games while averaging a whopping 39.4 minutes a night (Tied for second highest in his career), and was still one of the top 15 players in Win Shares and top five in Value Over Replacement Player.

During an obscure early January game and a team record treading around .500, the Wolves found themselves in overtime for the second game in a row, this time versus the 9-23 76ers. Fourth-year sharpshooter, Kyle Korver, had just ripped off a 12-point fourth quarter to help Philadelphia battle back, but it was Garnett who ended up stealing show. KG scored six of Minnesota’s eight points in overtime and capped things off with a way too easy jumper, after squaring up Samuel Dalembert. This was just a precursor of what was to come later.

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Kevin Garnett — Carries Wolves over two defenders

Box score vs Portland Trailblazers (3/25/07)

About two months later in the same season, the Wolves looked pretty much dead in the water. A 29-39 record with no glimmer of hope outside of Garnett’s performances. It was, however, the final opportunity for rookie guards Randy Foye and Brandon Roy to duke it out. The Blazers infamously made a foolish draft night trade in 2006, swapping the rights of oft-injured Roy, for Foye, who ended up playing more two-times the amount of NBA games.

Steal.

Back to the game: It was a back-and-forth affair featuring 16 ties and 20 lead changes. Neither team led by more than six points for the majority of the game. Roy punched first with 10 points in the first quarter. Foye responded with 13 points in the fourth. When it came down to the line, it was their big men who made the big plays. Fellow rookie, LaMarcus Aldridge, tipped in a Jarrett Jack miss at the rim with 8.4 seconds left to take a 93-92 lead. A broken play led to six seconds ticking off the clock, and an awkward inbound situation from below their own rim. Hassell had trouble getting the ball in, but barely avoided a five-second inbounds violation to squeeze a pass through to KG, who had Roy and Ime Udoka drenched all over him. Garnett faded away and hit one of his most iconic shots of his career for the win.

Minnesota would go on to lose 11 of their final 13 games of the season.

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Damien Wilkins – Season opener tip-in

Box score vs New Jersey Nets (10/28/09)

Make the jokes now. They’re cheap, but warranted. But dated.

Jonny Flynn was the fateful point guard that gets the brunt of all the Steph Curry jokes. However, if you rewind back to October, 2009, it wasn’t so funny. Flynn just had a standout Las Vegas Summer League performance. The short, but explosive, guard looked primed for a long NBA career had it not been for a debilitating hip injury, but that’s neither here nor there.

The Wolves were looking to add talent to their roster and 2009-2010 was going to be another year of rebuilding from Kevin Garnett’s ashes. Equally in the dumps were the visiting New Jersey Nets on opening night, who had just traded Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic for an uninspiring trio of backups. Not many eyes were on this one, as the Nets led for nearly 90% of the game. Minnesota had no answer for Brook Lopez down low while their offense puttered to a 36.6% mark from the field. That is until Flynn caught fire (and contact), scoring 13 of his team-high 18 points in the final nine minutes of the game. Devin Harris tied things up on a short jumper with 18.5 seconds left to go, but that set the stage for a wild finish at the hands of an unlikely hero.

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Kevin Love — “Oh my, oh my, oh my!”

Box score @ Los Angeles Clippers (1/20/12)

This was one of those plays that you’ll always remember where you were when it happened. The NBA had hungry fans drooling for action after a prolonged lockout. Timberwolves fans were itching to see their rookie point guard, Ricky Rubio, take to the court after a seasons-long buyout situation abroad. He joined burgeoning superstar, Kevin Love, for one of the first meaningful Timberwolves seasons in a long time. On the other side, the Los Angeles Clippers were must-watch television in their own right. They had just acquired MVP-candidate Chris Paul (Who sat out for this game) to pair with the high-flying Rookie of the Year winner, Blake Griffin.

It felt like one of the first nationally televised games for the Wolves that fans from around the world were tuned in to see.

It was an interesting game, to say the least. When looking at the box score, you immediately notice that the two top scorers of the game were Darko Miličić (22 points) for the Wolves, and Mo Williams (25 points) off the bench for the Clippers. Los Angeles was definitely the favorites in this one and showed as much, leading by as much as 16 just before the half. Love failed to get going, shooting just 5 for 16 from the field, as he saw his team trail 77-89 with just nine minutes left to play.

But this was a new Minnesota team.

They clawed their way back with seconds remaining in the game. Rubio, who was 0 for 10 until this point, hit a clutch triple to tie the game in front of the Clippers bench with exactly 20 seconds left. Billups tried to take Rubio off the dribble in their last possession of the game, but the rookie flexed his defensive prowess and forced a miss from the former Finals MVP. Then Head Coach Rick Adelman called a timeout to draw up a beautiful elevator doors play for Love.

The rest, was Canis Hoopus Comments Section history.

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Luke Ridnour — Float game strong

Box score vs Utah Jazz (2/22/12)

A month after that epic game, the Wolves managed to stay afloat in their fight to end a then seven-year playoff drought. They entered the night with a 16-17 record and just 2.0 games back of the eighth seed (Play-ins were a thing back then). They hosted the Utah Jazz, who were right there with them in the standings. It was an ugly game for Minnesota, who shot 40.3% from the field so it was no surprise they trailed for 44 minutes of the contest. In fact, if you ignore the first minutes of the game, the Wolves didn’t take their first lead until 42.5 seconds left in the game off five straight points by rookie, Derrick Williams.

It was mostly a free throw contest in the final 30 seconds until Minnesota’s old friend franchise player, Al Jefferson, hooked in a shot to knot things up with seven ticks to go. This set things up for Luke Ridnour to swish through a floater as the final buzzer sounded, keeping the good vibes going for the season.

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Andrew Wiggins — Pull-up over Tucker

Box score @ Phoenix Suns (1/24/17)

A lot can happen in five years, but apparently game-winning shots at the buzzer are not one of them for the Timberwolves. This was Kris Dunn’s rookie season where the Baby Wolves were still figuring out how to play winning basketball. Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns just had successive Rookie of the Year campaigns while Zach LaVine was starting to break onto the scene. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns could hardly cobble together a functional basketball team outside of Devin Booker, who was really starting to shine.

It was another meaningless January game where both teams kept things relatively close. A brief 13-point Wolves lead in the second half was squandered quickly as they headed into the final quarter. It felt as though every Minnesota score was swiftly answered by Phoenix. Wiggins showcased his signature move of splitting two free throws to take a 110-109 lead, but PJ Tucker would respond by drawing a foul on Towns and drilling both of his charity stripe attempts. The Wolves had one final attempt down a single point with six seconds to play. Wiggins caught a pass, dribbled right, nearly fell down, then canned his first game-winning shot of his career over a bewildered Tucker.

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Andrew Wiggins — The improbable banker

Box score @ Oklahoma City Thunder (10/22/17)

The “New Era” of Wolves basketball was off to a rocky start, to say the least. After a uninspired new jersey kit and logo were unveiled, coupled with the arrival of me-first megastar, Jimmy Butler, the Minnesota fan base was revitalized as they hoped their 13-season playoff would come to an end.

However, an opening night loss to the San Antonio Spurs and a rickety win over the Utah Jazz left some fans anxious. Things looked up in their third game though, as they took on a dangerous looking Oklahoma City Thunder team who added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. The Wolves jumped out to an early lead which they maintained for almost the entire first 45 minutes of the game. Things then got wild as they neared the finish line.

The reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook, went off for 15 points in the final quarter. It was one of those games where he was hitting three pointers at a high clip. Towns rattled in a runner to break the tie, 112-110, with just 8.9 seconds left on the game clock. On their ensuing play, the Thunder took just 4.2 seconds to give Carmelo his first signature shot in a Thunder uniform. Minnesota had no timeouts left now down a single point, so Taj Gibson ran around the baseline like a chicken with its head cut off. He eventually found Wiggins who sprinted up the court, getting free for just a moment thanks to a (legal) Towns screen that took George out of the play. Wiggins took one final step inside the halfcourt logo, and fired up a prayer.

The bank was open.

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Karl-Anthony Towns — Cleaning up the mess

Box score vs Memphis Grizzlies (1/30/19)

Minnesota was less than a year removed from ending their long postseason drought, but just a couple months after the Butler trade, it felt as though years had gone by. There was initial success with the Towns, Wiggins, and Robert Covington iteration of the Timberwolves, but quickly lost steam once the latter went down with a right knee injury. They were on the outside looking in for the playoffs with just over 30 games left in the season, so things could go either way.

After two straight losses to the Utah Jazz, they hosted a Memphis Grizzlies team who were below them in the standings. This was a Grizzlies team that was starting our friends Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Anderson! It was another slog of a contest where both teams shot close to 40% from the field. It felt like the Wolves needed a Jerryd Bayless “Legacy Game,” and indeed their starting point guard delivered a team-high 19 points. He biffed on two straight game winning mid range shots from the right corner to end regulation, but that didn’t stop the 30-year-old guard from firing away in overtime. He would attack the rim and be the only Wolves player to score in extra time.

Things setup in the final minute for some goofiness all around. More bricks. A pair of jump ball situations. It all culminated in Wiggins dribbling out the clock with the game tied 97-97 (Yes, in overtime), and fired a missile of a mid-ranger that thudded between the backboard and rim. The shot was so off target that it ricocheted awkwardly to the same right corner where Bayless had just whiffed on two game-winners in regulation. Towns snagged the wild rebound with 1.3 seconds with his back facing the basket and 14 feet away from the hoop. He somehow had time to take one pound dribble, then in one motion, squared up and shot a contested fadeaway over the outstretched hand of former Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol, in time.

Never had a doubt.

The Wolves finished the rest of the season losing 20 of their final 31 games.

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Julius Randle — Ice cold dagger

Box score vs Phoenix Suns (11/17/24)

No need to really dissect this one. If you’re here, you likely tuned in for the action over the weekend. Julius Randle now joins the likes Tom Hammonds, Malik Sealy, Kevin Garnett, Damien Wilkins, Kevin Love, Luke Ridnour, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns in Timberwolves Lore. Enjoy the spotlight, Julius!