Fifteen Years Ago Today, The Wolves Passed On Steph Curry
It seems hard to believe but it has been exactly fifteen years since the fateful night the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to pass on taking Davidson guard Steph Curry with either of their top ten picks in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The Wolves were in an enviable position with both the fifth and sixth picks in the first round of the draft. With their fifth pick, the Wolves selected an exciting point guard prospect from Spain in Ricky Rubio.
This pick was to be expected as Rubio had considerable hype heading into the draft and the Wolves had a clear need at point guard. The only question regarding Rubio heading into the draft was when he would be leaving Europe for the NBA, as he was only 18 at the time of the draft, and whether or not he would even be willing to play in Minnesota ('too cold' he famously said when asked for the first thing that came to mind when he heard 'Minnesota').
The sixth pick was a head-scratcher with the Wolves selected ANOTHER point guard in Jonny Flynn of Syracuse. In what appeared to be a case of simply taking the player ranked highest on their draft board, Flynn's fit with the team was not readily apparent. Would he play the two guard despite his diminutive size? Was General Manager David Kahn hoping to trade one of the two?
While Rubio had some flashes of greatness with the Wolves he ultimately was a journeyman point guard who never really figured out how to shoot efficiently. Flynn lasted just two seasons with Minnesota, and four seasons in the NBA total, before being out of the league entirely.
Adding insult to injury, the Golden State Warriors took Curry with the #7 pick right after the Wolves' two selections. All Curry has done is become one of the greatest players of all time, boasting four NBA titles and the most made three-pointers in NBA history.