As Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore spent time in Minnesota in the years prior to taking ownership over of the Timberwolves this summer, one of the things the two heard often and loudly was to bring back “the trees.”
The new majority owners of the Wolves and WNBA’s Lynx will do just that this season.
The Timberwolves will bring back their iconic Black Trees Classic Edition, an alternate uniform worn from 1998 to 2008 (and donned often by Kevin Garnett) for 28 games this season: 21 at home and 7 on the road. They will debut against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 26.
“One of the things we’ve been obsessing over is fan experience in the arena and giving them the best in class,” Rodriguez, co-chairperson of the Wolves and Lynx, told ESPN. “We polled the fans and very high on their poll was they wanted these jerseys that mean a great deal to them — the ‘Black Trees.’
“And also we’ll be having some more surprises in-arena and uniform stuff. But hearing the fans loud and clear is very important to us and we’re trying to deliver exactly what they want.”
Minnesota first introduced the popular uniform with tree trim and a Timberwolves font that looks similar to the Count Chocula one in 1996-97. The black alternate jersey debuted two years later.
With Garnett roaming the paint and Flip Saunders coaching on the sideline, the Wolves made the playoffs eight straight seasons — culminating with the franchise’s first Western Conference finals appearance in 2003-04 — during the trees uniform era.
The last time the franchise wore the black alternate jersey was during the 2018-19 season.
“We’ve got some uniforms in our closet that fans love,” said Mike Grahl, Timberwolves and Lynx chief marketing officer. “And I would say this particular one that we’re bringing back is at the front of the fans’ closets … The fans continue to ask for this jersey. Anytime we do a uniform drop of any sort, there’s one common word that gets echoed by all of our fans, and that word is ‘trees.’
“There’s no other uniform in the NBA that’s designed in that way. The character that it has and the uniqueness that it has, I think fans have significant energy for and they hold onto that in lore.”
As Anthony Edwards will try to lead Minnesota to a third straight Western Conference finals appearance, he and the Wolves will wear the franchise’s most iconic jersey 21 of the 28 times at the Target Center.
Rodriguez says he and Lore heard the fans loud and clear.
“When we first got here, everyone wanted to bring the glory days back,” Rodriguez said. “They had that uniform when they [first] went to the Western Conference finals. There’s a lot of great memories for the young adults that were kids at that time.
“And that is not just a cool uniform for the Timberwolves. I think it’s one of the cool jerseys over the last few decades in the NBA. They’re just classic. You see ’em when they [rank] a lot of throwbacks. That’s one of the ones that always comes up top five. So our fans are very proud of them.”
