Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Thursday, there are 54 days remaining.Plenty of NBA cities have been waiting too long for a championship. Only one modern era expansion team has won a title (the Heat in 2006); most championships are won by old NBA stalwarts (Boston, L.A. Lakers), ABA crossovers (San Antonio) or ... well, actually, those teams win most of the titles.
Minnesota's drought actually extends beyond the 1989 birth of the Timberwolves, though. The Twin Cities got a taste of the ultimate success back in the early years of the Lakers, when the team won five of the first six NBA championships, the last of which earned in 1954. But with the retirement of George Mikan and the eventual move to Hollywood, Minnesota is still waiting for the next basketball title.
Once the Lakers moved in 1961, Minneapolis had to wait 28 years just for another local team. But it wasn't completely hunky dory for the Lakers either. After the last Minneapolis title in '54, it'd be another 18 years before the Lakers would win another ring. That's the longest title drought in the existence of the franchise; by comparison, the Celtics won 11 championships over the span (many of them over the Lakers, actually).
The post-Mikan Minneapolis Lakers couldn't do it, and neither could Kevin Garnett. The next attempt is up to Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Kurt Rambis. If this core doesn't get it done, we could be waiting a good deal longer.
Big Step Forward For Senate Immigration Bill
Rescuers Continue Search For Tornado Survivors
Inhofe: Oklahoma Aid Will Be 'Totally Different' From Sandy Aid
House Republicans Press On With Slashing Cuts
Knife Attack In China Wounds 6 Schoolchildren, 1 Adult
Pentagon Wants Millions To Maintain 'Inefficient' Facility
CBS Reporter's Grave Allegations
Weiner Throws His Hat In The Ring
Wolf Blitzer's Embarrassing Moment With Tornado Survivor
Atheist State Rep Shakes Up Prayer Session
Portland Voters May Block Fluoridation
Two GOP Senators Battle 'Bizarre' Tea Party Demand
Peace Corps Grants Gay Couples New Benefit
Airbnb Illegal In NYC
Best Buy CEO Claims 'Win-Win-Win'
Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Still Receiving Salary
RFK Jr.: GOP To Blame For IRS Scandal
WATCH: McCain Asks Apple CEO One Extremely Pressing Question
Virginia GOP Candidate: 'I Don't Have Anything To Rephrase Or To Apologize For'
U.S. Seized Phone Records For Fox News AND White House
IRS Inspector General's Staff Kept GOP Congressman Updated On Probe
Military Rape Survivor Collects 113,000 Signatures Demanding Action
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Know If The New Treasury Secretary Will Be As Bad As The Old One
LOOK: The Deadliest States For Tornadoes
Moore Residents Take Stock Of Deadly Tornado's Full Horror
Leveled Schools Lacked Tornado Shelters Due To Haphazard Regulation
Many Insurance Payments Won't Cut It After Oklahoma Disaster
Apple's Boosting Its Offshore Profits Faster Than Anyone Else
Student Debt Reaches New Heights
Veterans Fear Impact Of Food Stamp Cuts
