The Wolves were the worst team in all of men’s sports. Now they could be Minnesota’s best hope for a title.

Until just two seasons ago, the Timberwolves held the dubious distinction of having the worst regular-season winning percentage in professional sports.

Not just in the NBA, not just among Minnesota’s “Big Four” men’s professional men’s teams.

The worst franchise record across every team in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL.

But just two years later, the Wolves’ fortunes have changed and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now hold that worst record distinction.

The Wolves capped strong regular seasons with playoff runs to the Western Conference finals in 2024 and last season. Before the 2024 postseason, the Wolves had made the NBA playoffs just 11 times, with 10 of those being one-and-done series losses in the first round.

In the past two NBA postseasons, the Wolves have been one of best playoff performers, trailing 2024 champion Boston, 2025 champion Oklahoma City and Indiana.

And while Minnesota’s pro sports teams are in a championship drought dating back three-plus decades — on the men’s side, that is — fan playoff disappointment can be soothed a bit by a deep playoff run to at least the semifinals, rare as it is here.

Before the 2023-24 season, the Wolves had but one deep playoff run in their history, a trip to the Western Conference finals more than two decades ago during the Kevin Garnett era. They missed the playoffs in 16 of the next 17 seasons.

The Wolves returned to the playoffs after the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons but lost in the first round both years. A 56-win regular season two years ago led to a run to the Western Conference finals for the second time before the team fell to Dallas in five games.

Last season’s 49-win regular season was topped with 4-1 playoff series victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State before the Wolves succumbed to Oklahoma City in five games.

As the Wolves get ready to embark on a new season, the team seems set up for sustained success. Anthony Edwards, among the best players in the world, averaged 27.6 points last season. Forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo, acquired before the start of last season, are more familiar with their roles.

Coach Chris Finch, starting his sixth season at the helm, has the highest winning percentage among Wolves coaches and holds the franchise record for playoff wins.

However, the current men’s pro teams pale in comparison with the success of the Minnesota Lynx and two teams that have long since departed the state: the Lakers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1960, and the North Stars, who left in 1993 to become the Dallas Stars.

Playoff success, while elusive for the men’s teams, has not been a problem for Minnesota’s women’s teams. The WNBA’s Lynx, with four titles during a seven-year stretch from 2011 to 2017, are a local dynasty along the lines of the Minneapolis Lakers, who won five Basketball Association of America (BBA) or NBA titles in six seasons in the late 1940s and early 1950s. And the Minnesota Frost, who won the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League title, repeated as PWHL champions this year.