Minnesota Timberwolves Logo PNG
The Minnesota basketball club, founded in 1989, chose a wolf as its mascot. The modern Minnesota Timberwolves logo symbolizes aggression, a connection to the state, a desire to defend the region’s sports reputation, a forward-looking approach, and respect for its past.
The Minnesota Timberwolves began in 1987, when the NBA awarded Minnesota a new franchise after nearly 30 years without a team following the Minneapolis Lakers’ 1960 move to Los Angeles. Owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson paid $32.5 million for entry. The team won the statewide vote over the Polars.
The team debuted in 1989 with losses to the Seattle SuperSonics and the Chicago Bulls, before securing its first win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Early seasons were marked by weak results, with no more than 29 wins per year, though attendance exceeded one million in the first season. In 1990, the club moved to Target Center, and in 1994, Glen Taylor acquired the franchise.
A turning point came in 1995, when Kevin McHale drafted Kevin Garnett directly out of high school. By 1997, the team, alongside Stephon Marbury, reached the playoffs for the first time. After Marbury’s departure, Garnett led Minnesota to seven straight playoff appearances, though all ended in first-round exits.
In 2004, with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, the team won 58 games, reached the Western Conference Finals, and Garnett earned MVP honors. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
After 2004, results declined. In 2007, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics. The team missed the playoffs until 2018. In 2020, Anthony Edwards was drafted first overall, joining Karl-Anthony Towns.
By 2023–24, Minnesota won 56 games and reached the Western Conference Finals again, led by a defense anchored by Rudy Gobert. In 2024–25, after Towns moved to the New York Knicks, the team repeated this result.
Meaning and History
The club’s logos feature its mascot, Crunch the Wolf. They also include the full name Minnesota Timberwolves, which has appeared in various fonts over time. Emblems presented after the 1990s come in two forms: round, like a ball, and figurative, with images of trees. Each version is conceptually thoughtful: the designers paid attention to the artistic and the meaningful components.
Throughout the year, designers worked on a new emblem. Eventually, the logo’s creators preferred the option that evolved from previous logos. But at the same time, designers added elements symbolizing Minnesota to the updated emblem.
Specifically, the current Minnesota Timberwolves logo features the North Star, which appears on the state’s flag. The wolf in the new emblem looks into the future. “Of course, the team respects its past, but the new logo symbolizes moving forward and the aspiration to conquer new territory,” the official Minnesota website says.
Rodney Richardson and RARE Design worked on the new logo. Richardson previously collaborated with the “Charlotte Hornets,” “New Orleans Pelicans,” “Atlanta Hawks,” and “Memphis Grizzlies.”
The discussion of the new team logo sparked a lively reaction among club fans. According to many sports enthusiasts, the new “Minnesota” emblem copied the logo of the National Hockey League (NHL) club “Arizona Coyotes,” which depicts a coyote in a similar form.
What are the Minnesota Timberwolves?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. It is a member of the National Basketball Association and, as of 2021, has not yet won a championship. The team, which debuted in 1989, has played at the Target Center since 1990.
1990 – 1996
The NBA’s return to Minnesota began with plans for a new team and a naming contest. In 1986, prospective owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson received 6,076 entries suggesting 1,284 different names. Timberwolves and Polars emerged as the finalists. Organizers invited city councils in 842 Minnesota communities to vote, and Timberwolves won by roughly 2 to 1. The name refers to the state’s native wolves. Among the fans who submitted it was Tim Pope, who received a trip to the NBA All-Star Game.
In 1987, the league approved the new Minneapolis franchise. That same year, the public got its first look at the wolf-head logo on an oversized $20,000 donation check presented to United Way. The team began playing in the 1989-90 season, bringing the NBA back to Minnesota after the Minneapolis Lakers’ move to Los Angeles in 1960.
A separate logo contest drew more than 2,600 submissions, including entries from Alaska and Norway. Artist Mark Thompson of Austin, Minnesota, won. He based his design on a drawing he had created in 1982 for the North Iowa Huskies hockey team that had remained an unused sketch. Thompson was paid $2,500 for the Timberwolves logo. Team president Bob Stein wanted an aggressive wolf with a measured degree of ferocity.
Thompson placed the wolf’s head inside a circle against a silver basketball. Blue areas defined the fur and shadows, while lighter sections shaped the muzzle. The mouth was slightly open. Pale green eyes stood out against the cool colors, matching the outer border.
The team name appeared below the illustration on two lines. Minnesota was rendered in green script resembling a handwritten signature, while TIMBERWOLVES used tall, tightly spaced blue sans-serif letters. The team used the logo from its inaugural 1989-90 season through the end of the 1995-96 season. Fans later nicknamed the wolf Old Shep.
1997 – 2008
The Minnesota Timberwolves unveiled their new logo in 1996 with lasers and smoke in the Mall of America rotunda. A snarling wolf surrounded by green pine trees replaced the wolf inside a circle. Owner Glen Taylor said the redesign was intended to present the team as an aggressive opponent ready to compete. The team used the logo from the 1996-97 season through the end of 2007-08.
Los Angeles-based Mednick Design Group developed the project. Peter Thornburgh, an agency copywriter with a passion for sports logos, created the illustration. He positioned the wolf facing the viewer, its mouth open to reveal sharp fangs. Black areas surrounding the silver muzzle made the animal appear to emerge from the shadows. Yellow eyes beneath lowered brows added to its menacing expression.
Green pine trees flanked the head, replacing the earlier circular basketball background. The team name sat below the wolf on two lines. Small white MINNESOTA lettering appeared on a narrow dark band, while the much larger blue TIMBERWOLVES lettering had a white outline. The lower line used custom angular letters with elongated, pointed tips and an uneven lower edge. Their jagged contours echoed the fangs, tufts of fur, and pine branches.
The pine motif also appeared on the uniforms. The team created additional logo versions for different sizes. One featured the snarling wolf’s head alone, while another combined the initials “M” and “T” for Minnesota Timberwolves. The monogram resembled a wolf’s head with ears and protruding tufts of fur. The full logo, standalone head, or monogram could be used depending on the application.
2009 – 2017
With input from Adidas, the Minnesota Timberwolves updated the logo’s colors, illustration, and lettering for the 2008-09 season. As the franchise entered its 20th season, it retained the familiar front-facing wolf among pine trees. The revised design served as the primary logo through the end of the 2016-17 season.
Most of the changes focused on the face and team name. A large white area was added to the silver-gray head with its black outline. The yellow eyes and snarl remained, while the pale green trees received more regular contours. The TIMBERWOLVES lettering became white with a double blue-and-black outline. The letters had more consistent proportions and more solid stroke endings while retaining their angular shapes and sharp details.
The team also introduced an alternate circular logo in 2008, showing a wolf raising its muzzle toward the moon. A basketball behind the animal connected the design to the team’s original logo. The combination of a howling wolf and a circular basketball background later became the basis for the next major redesign.
2017 – 2026
In the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2017 logo, the wolf raised its head to howl, calling the pack together. The designers used the animal to represent unity between the team and its fans. An open-mouthed profile replaced the previous front-facing snarl. The team unveiled the logo on April 11 during halftime of a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Rodney Richardson of Mississippi-based RARE Design led the project. Development took about 12 months and involved NBA executives and representatives of the team’s ownership group. The design combined three elements from earlier logos: the wolf, the basketball, and the full team name.
The blue-and-gray wolf’s head appeared against a blue basketball. The ball’s seams converged near a green, four-pointed North Star at the top. The star connected the logo to northern Minnesota and represented a guiding point for the team. The wolf’s eye used the same green. A dark outer ring carried the Minnesota Timberwolves name in white. The custom lettering was angular, with an “A” shaped like a rune.
The color names continued the references to Minnesota’s natural surroundings. Midnight Blue evoked the darkness of the night sky, Aurora Green referred to the northern lights, and Lake Blue recalled lake water. Moonlight Grey and Frost White associated the gray and white areas with moonlight and frost. Green also referenced Minnesota’s vegetation and budding trees.
2026 – today
After years of fan requests, the Minnesota Timberwolves brought pine trees and their early blue-and-green color scheme back into the team’s identity. Introduced in 2026 for the 2026-27 season, the update combined imagery from different eras, retaining the howling wolf from the previous logo and surrounding it with trees again.
The wolf’s head became predominantly white against a silver basketball background. Green trees returned inside the circle, while the North Star remained in its previous position. Blue became brighter, and green moved closer to the shade used in the team’s early years.
The primary logo came in two versions. One featured the illustration alone inside the circle. The other, called the Global Icon, placed MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES around the outer edge. An additional logo combined the abbreviation MINN with a basketball, pine trees, and the North Star. Another version, called Tree-M, merged the letter “M” with the outlines of evergreen trees.
Cuts in the letters and numerals suggest wolf fangs. The WOLVES wordmark uses custom angular lettering reminiscent of the team’s earlier pine-tree logos.
Font and Colors
The modern Minnesota Timberwolves logo is a tribute to the club’s historical heritage. For many years, a wolf has been at the center of the composition. But this time, it is not growling but solemnly howling, throwing its head back. This image carries special meaning, as wolves howl to strengthen pack bonds, assert their rights over territory, and warn strangers not to approach.
Lines on the basketball cross, forming a green four-pointed star. This is the North Star, which embodies northern Minnesota. Inside the dark blue ring, which frames the design, the club’s name is written in white letters.
The inscription “Minnesota Timberwolves” is done in a simple hacker font. The developers paid close attention to color selection. They tried to maintain the classic green-and-blue combination while using different shades. The palette includes white (#FFFFFF), blue (#005083), gray (#C6CFD4), green (#7AC143), and dark blue (#002B5C).
Each color draws inspiration from Minnesota’s picturesque landscapes. The palette reflects the depths of lakes, moonlight, night forests, the northern lights, and the contrasts of a snowy city.
FAQ
Who created the “Timberwolves” logo?
Rodney Richardson, the founder of Rare Design, developed the 2017 logo. Peter Thornburgh created the 1996 version. Artist Mark Thompson drew the very first version of the emblem.
What color is “Minnesota Timberwolves”?
The team’s colors have picturesque names related to Minnesota’s natural features: Lake Blue (#005083), Moonlight Gray (#C6CFD4), Frost White (#FFFFFF), Aurora Green (#7AC143), Midnight Blue (#002B5C).
What does the “Timberwolves” logo represent?
The 2017 logo features a basketball. It’s set against the night sky, which serves as a backdrop for a howling wolf. Moreover, the intersecting lines on the ball form a four-pointed green star. The wolf’s head merges with the dark ring framing the drawing. At the top of the improvised frame, the club’s name is written. The letters are white, angular, and sans-serif.
Why did the “Minnesota Timberwolves” change its logo?
The Minnesota Timberwolves team changed its logo to keep up with the times. It wanted to add elements to its style associated with Minnesota and the United States. For example, the North Star is depicted on the flag.