From the small Basketball mad nation of Montenegro, Nikola Pekovic took his sweet time making his way to the NBA as he was busy dominating the Euro League.  Pekovic would finish third in Most Improved Voting in the 2011/12 season and followed that up with two seasons averaging over 15 Points and 8 Rebounds per Game.  Pekovic would suffer ankle issues in the 2014/15 season that limited his playing time to 31 Games and even less in he next season where he only played in 12.  He would be waived shortly after as he was not able to contribute on an NBA level but he was still a very good player on albeit poor Timberwolves teams.

How can you not love the story of Sam Mitchell?

A mega-star at Duke and a member of the 1992 United States Dream Team, Christian Laettner did not have the same career he had in the professional ranks as he did in the college ones, but the third overall draft pick in 1992 still made a mark in Minnesota.  Laettner’s numbers were at his best in Minnesota where he averaged a healthy 17.2 Points per Game Average over 276 Games.

The well travelled (eight teams in fifteen years) Sam Cassell plied his trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for just two seasons, one of which resulted in his only All-Star Game appearance.  In that season, the Point Guard would average 19.8 Points per Game and a 22.8 PER, both of which were career highs when he was with one team during an NBA campaign.  He would also be named to a post season All-NBA team, again the only time in his career that occurred.