Our Kyle Ratke was able to catch up with former Timberwolves All-Star Tom Gugliotta in part to promote the Apr. 9 replay of the 1997 Timberwolves win over the Bulls, but to also chat about a few other things.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
Ratke: Going up against Michael Jordan in the mid-‘90s, I think probably a lot of people, myself included, probably weren’t of age to really remember what watching him was like and how good he was. What was it like going up against him?
Gugliotta: Yeah, (the Bulls) were the perennial powerhouse. You kind of knew they had bigger fish to fry. Their goals were championships. You definitely knew when you stepped on the court with Michael Jordan, it was the one guy you just had to look at for a little while just to be like ‘Wow, there he is.’ All the stuff he’s done and the reputation he’s built, when there was a moment, say the start of the game at a jump ball, you just had to get a glance at him and just be like ‘Wow, he’s really there. He looks just like he does on the commercials.’
He was one of those iconic players like when you think of Kobe and LeBron. The one that you really take a moment to look at even though you are a peer and someone who is playing against them. You kind of have to collect yourself because you’ve seen so many things about him before you got to play against him and there he is in the flesh.
Ratke: I think the Wolves were 0-16 to start out against the Bulls and have a winning record since. It turns out when the best player in the world leaves, it’s good for the other teams. You guys won that game. You and Stephon Marbury had 23 points each. Just looking back at photos of Steph, there’s one of him talking trash to MJ and MJ is just kind of blowing him off. What was a young Steph like? Seemingly he just had all the confidence in the world.
Gugliotta: No doubt. I recently just caught up with that game to refresh and I think second half, he missed five-straight free throws and just to show you about his confidence and he was not hesitant to go right back at the basket. There was no question of how confident he was, and he knew he would make the next shot. And if he didn’t, it would be the next shot. He was certainly very confident. He was an outstanding player. Obviously, they had a hard time guarding him. He was getting to the basket when he wanted to, making plays and creating his own shot. I would say his confidence was the biggest thing going for him that night. He wasn’t that special that night, but he carried through just because his confidence never wavered.
Ratke: Timberwolves fans will always wonder what would have happened if Steph and KG would have stayed together. You were a big part of that team. Maybe it’s because they were younger, but people forget how good you were in your prime. Do you ever think about what could have been with you three in Minnesota?
Gugliotta: Yeah, I guess in hindsight a little bit. Especially those two being about the same age and maybe at the time it would have been the Stockton-Malone kind of comparisons that were going on because of a great point guard and obviously a great big man playing together for 10-12 years. You know, you always kind of think about it. It just wasn’t meant to be, really. Surely, I would have loved to been part of something like that. You know, things happen. It becomes a business more often than not. You don’t necessarily pick and choose what your destinations are. As far as those two especially, to see them play for a decade or more, that could have changed the whole franchise even more. They had some great runs, but you might have had better players that wanted to come along and play with them because they were close. It didn’t happen and I know I appreciated my time greatly and playing with the coaches and the fans don’t get any better. I guess I just look at it that I’m thankful I had that opportunity to play in that city with that team.
Ratke: You were back in Minneapolis not too long ago for the State Fair and you did some stuff with us. Coming back for you, what was that like? Maybe you don’t realize how much you’re appreciated or missed until you come back and you hear the ‘Googs’ chants.
Gugliotta: Those are my fondest memories playing in the NBA. It was probably the best few years of my career. It was one of the few times I played on a really good team and a player that was on the team before got good, and we kind of took off after we drafted Garnett and then Marbury, and then added some good veterans like Terry Porter and Sam Mitchell. You knew you had Kevin McHale who knew basketball and played on great teams and had an idea of how to build a team. Looking at that, it was an awesome feeling for a player. I played for the Bullets and I was on the Warriors before they got good again, but we were 22-25 win teams. Out of 82 games, that’s no fun. I think very fondly of my time there and it certainly exceeded my expectations of how it is to live there, the people that live there. It was just incredible and I’m thankful I had that opportunity.
Ratke: You talked about how the NBA is a business and I think we see all the time where there are young, promising teams. A few years ago, it was the Wolves with Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins. Everyone thought that was the next big thing. But every few years there’s a team like that and then something happens. How fragile is it to keep a young and talented team together given all the factors at play?
Gugliotta: Yeah, that’s a great question. Free agency is kind of at its peak. You can almost create your own team if you’re a good enough player and you have a buddy and you can each get two or three guys and all a sudden you have six really good players and you got to city X and make it happen. It doesn’t always work out, but it does happen and it takes players away from teams that would have been good. But you also have these kids – that’s what happened to (the Wolves) when I was 28. These kids are 18 or 19. And to be honest, they’re all fighting for not only the money, but the love and the publicity and the stuff from their own city. If they think someone is encroaching on that and they’re still not winning, then they think that other guy should go, and it should be them that’s the focal point. It’s part of the soap opera. That’s part of the allure of the league, what people also like watching. It is a soap opera. It’s not all just lovey-dovey. It’s not just ‘Get a team and work hard and see where it goes.’ There’s a constant positioning and fighting. It’s very competitive people. The owners and GMs are competitive and the player that is trying to make a living and career is of course ultra-competitive. It doesn’t always turn out pretty, and then you leave it up to sometimes 20-year-old kids and that’s kind of what you get.