National Basketball Association

Simulating the Timberwolves' 2016-17 season on NBA 2k17

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Today is the day — opening night for the Minnesota Timberwolves — and what would the start of the season be without official Dunking With Wolves NBA 2k17 predictions?

The season starts tonight, Timberwolves fans. Win projections have been made. The power rankings have been released. All in all, the experts have weighed in on the upcoming NBA season.

But, we seem to have forgotten about one expert.

NBA 2k17.

For this reason, I have taken the time to use NBA 2k17’s MySeason mode to simulate the Timberwolves upcoming season. In order to avoid a one off Cinderella run type season, I ran the simulation 10 separate times. After the simulation finished I recorded the teams record and statistics for the top five players as well as any playoff appearances and player transactions.

The team:

Let’s get started.

Attempt #1: 29-53, 15th in the West

This was the worst team record that came out of my simulations. This team was hit by the injury bug which was the reason for a poor virtual season.

Of the top five players on the roster, everyone except for Ricky Rubio missed nine or more games. On a positive note, Karl-Anthony Towns made the All-NBA Third Team and Kris Dunn made the All-Rookie First Team — something he did in every simulation except for one.

Towns – 70 games, 18.3 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.8 BPG, 48.7 FG%

Andrew Wiggins – 73 games, 19.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 41.7 FG%

Kris Dunn – 63 games,13 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 43.1 FG%

Zach LaVine – 67 games, 13.2 PPG, 4.8 APG, 37.7 FG% (this number was slightly alarming)

Rubio – 78 games, 9.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 39.7 FG%

Attempt #2: 36-46, 10th in the West

A reoccurring theme for these simulations is injury. Towns missed 23 games, Rubio missed 18, and Dunn missed 27. The silver lining however, is that Towns won Most Improved player and Dunn once again made All-Rookie First Team.

Towns – 59 games,18.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 48.7 FG%, 40.4 3P%

Wiggins – 72 games, 19.3 PPG, 4 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 41.9 FG%

Dunn – 55 games, 13.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.9 SPG, 44.4 FG%

LaVine – 82 games, 16.7 PPG, 4.7 APG, 41.8 FG%, 39.7 3P%

Rubio – 64 games, 10.2 PPG, 7.3 APG, 37.2 FG%

In this simulation, the Wolves traded Nikola Pekovic and Cole Aldrich to the Toronto Raptors for DeMarre Carroll and Lucas Nogueira.

More from Dunking with Wolves

Attempt #3: 43-39, 6th in the West

This was the Cinderella season mentioned earlier. It by far the most impressive, and yet, extremely unlikely — in this one, the Timberwolves made the NBA Finals.

This run was fueled by a healthy team, a trade for Robin Lopez and some insane virtual basketball led by Wiggins and Towns, a member of the All-NBA Third Team.

Beat the #3-seed Clippers, 4-2

Towns – 22.5 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.7 BPG, 58.9 FG%
Wiggins – 21.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3 APG, 49.5 FG%, 45 3P%

Beat the #2-seed Spurs, 4-2

Towns – 22.1 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.6 BPG, 57.9 FG%
Wiggins – 18.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3 APG, 45.2 FG%, 31.7 3P%

Beat the #5-seed Thunder, 4-3 (OKC had defeated #1-seed Golden State)
Towns – 19.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.5 APG,1.5 BPG, 57.6 FG%
Wiggins -19.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 46.1 FG%, 27.8 3P%

Lost in the Finals, 4-3, to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Towns – 18 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 BPG, 47.7 FG%
Wiggins – 16.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 45.3 FG%, 22.2 3P%

Regular Season

Towns – 82 games, 20.7 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.7 BPG, 51 FG%, 40 3P%

Wiggins – 82 games, 18.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 44.2 FG%

Dunn (All-Rookie First Team) – 73 games, 11.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.9 APG, 43.8 FG%

LaVine – 82 games, 13.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 5 APG, 40.4 FG%, 37.5 3PT%

Rubio – 71 games, 9.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 42.9 FG%, 37.8 3PT%

Traded Nikola Pekovic and Cole Aldrich to the Chicago Bulls for Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant.

Attempt #4: 44-38, 7th in the West

As the simulations continued, I noticed that both Dunn (All-Rookie First Team) and Rubio were consistently missing big chunks of time. In this simulation, they both missed 28 games.

However, the Wolves snatched the #7 seed and even caused some drama in the first round before losing to the eventual champion.

Beat the #2-seed Spurs, 4-2

Towns – 21.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 2.2 BPG, 48.2 FG%, 53.8 3P%
Wiggins – 20.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 BPG, 46 FG%, 28.6 3P%
LaVine showed up for this playoff push, averaging 18.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.3 APG, 47.5 FG%, 40 3P%

Lost in the second round to the #3-seed Pelicans , 4-1 (Pelicans went on to win the Finals)

Towns – 20.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1 BPG, 48.4 FG%, 44.4 3P%
Wiggins – 20 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 42.1 FG%, 35.3 3P%
LaVine – 13.2 PPG, 4.6 APG, 45.5 FG%, 40.9 3P%

Regular Season

Towns – 77 games, 18.8 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.3 BPG, 48.9 FG%, 38.9 3P%

Wiggins – 80 games, 19.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2 APG, 1.3 BPG, 42.9 FG%, 28 3P%

LaVine – 82 games, 15.7 PPG, 4.5 APG, 40.2 FG%, 38.6 3P%

Rubio – 54 games, 8.8 PPG, 7.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 36.8 FG%, 34.5 3P%

Dunn – 54 games, 14.6 PPG, 6 APG, 2.1 SPG, 42.3 FG%, 36.8 3P%

Attempt #5: 34-44, 10th in the West

After making the playoffs in the previous two simulations, this season was a bit of a disappointment.

Rubio missed 45 games and Dunn, who made the All-Rookie First Team, missed 28 games. The bright spot of this season was, you guessed it, Karl-Anthony Towns, who made the All-NBA Second Team.

Towns – 82 games, 19.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 BPG, 47.6 FG%, 40.6 3P%

Wiggins – 82 games, 20.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.2 BPG, 42.8 FG%, 27 3P%

Dunn – 54 games, 14 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 41.5 FG%, 30.4 3P%

LaVine – 77 games,15.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 41 FG%, 37 3P%

Rubio – 37 games, 9.1 PPG, 4 RPG, 6.3 APG, 39.1 FG%, 38.2 3P%

Attempt #6: 47-35, 7th in the West

This was one of the better regular season records that the simulation provided. In related news, this was also the first simulation where both Rubio and Dunn were healthy, and it showed in the team’s record.

Wiggins was a monster on the defensive end in the playoffs averaging two steals and nearly two blocks per game. With Towns making All-NBA Second Team and Dunn making All-Rookie First Team, this virtual team is built for the future.

Lost in first round, 4-2, to the Oklahoma City Thunder

Towns – 19 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.8 BPG, 45.3 FG%, 33.3 3P%

Wiggins – 20.3 PPG, 4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 45.4 FG%, 12.5 3P% — the worst simulation number I saw

Regular Season

Towns – 82 games, , 20 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.5 BPG, 51.1 FG%, 39.5 3P%

Wiggins – 69 games, 21.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.9 APG,1.5 SPG, 1 BPG, 43.3 FG%, 33.6 3P%

LaVine – 75 games, 16.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.9 APG, 43.7 FG%, 38.5 3P%

Dunn – 82 games, 13.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.7 APG, 2 SPG, 42.6 FG%, 34.2 3P%

Rubio – 82 games, 8.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 40.8 FG%, 29.6 3P%

Traded Nikola Pekovic and Adreian Payne to the Sacramento Kings for Omri Casspi and Kosta Koufos.

Attempt #7: 39- 43, 9th in West

Ninth in the Western Conference is roughly where a lot of experts and writers have placed this team.

The giant black mark on this virtual season is that Wiggins ruptured his Achilles’ tendon after 20 games. Also, Rubio missed 34 games (it sure seems as though 2k really has it out for Rubio).

On a positive note, Towns was voted to the All-NBA Third Team and Dunn won Rookie of the Year to go along with an All-Rookie First Team nomination.

Towns – 82 games, 21.1 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 BPG, 51.6 FG%, 42.9 3P%

Wiggins – 20 games (ruptured Achilles’)

LaVine – 71 games, 16.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.8 APG, 43 FG%, 36.7 3P%

Rubio – 48 games, 8.6 PPG, 4 RPG, 7.4 APG, 41.1 FG%, 33.7 3P%

Dunn – 82 games, 16.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 6.6 APG, 2 SPG, 45.5 FG%, 40.4 3P%

Traded Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich to the Memphis Grizzles for Brandan Wright and James Ennis.

Attempt #8 48-34, 6th in the West

Ultimately, 48 wins was the highest win total that this virtual team achieved. In the real NBA world, 48 wins is probably about the best possible outcome for the 2016-17 Timberwolves, too.

The driving force behind the success of this simulation was All-NBA Second Team center Karl-Anthony Towns. Dunn, once again, made All-Rookie First Team. Also note that the point guards were healthy and that Wiggins’ defensive statistics were amazing.

Lost in the first round, 4-2, to the #6-seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

Towns – 19.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 BPG, 42.5%, 25 3P%

Wiggins, 18.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1 BPG, 47.5%, 45 3P%

Upcoming Schedule

10/29at Sacramento Kings11/1Memphis Grizzlies11/3Denver Nuggets11/5at Oklahoma City Thunder11/8at Brooklyn Nets

Regular Season

Towns – 82 games,19.7 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.9 BPG, 50.7 FG%, 39.2 3P%

Wiggins – 75 games, 19.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 43.1 FG%, 29 3P%

LaVine – 80 games, 16 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, 43.8 FG%, 38.8 3P%

Dunn – 82 games, 13.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 44.7 FG%, 34 3P%

Rubio – 81 games, 9.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2 SPG, 39.4 FG%, 27.1 3P%

Attempt #9: 31-51, 13th in the West

This was the roughest season for the 2k Timberwolves.

Towns missed 13 games but still made the All-NBA Third Team. A lot of these 31 wins were by five or fewer points, and at one point during the season the virtual Wolves lost eight straight games.

Even though Dunn put up good numbers he did not make any of the All-Rookie teams. Overall, this season was a disappointment simply because they could not find a way to win.

Towns – 69 games,18.6 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.8 BPG, 48.5 FG%, 35.4 3P%

Wiggins – 82 games, 19.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1 BPG, 39.1 FG%, 25.5 3P%

LaVine – 70 games, 15.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.4 APG, 42.6 FG%, 37.9 3P%

Dunn – 79 games, 13.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 43.5 FG%, 32.3 3P%

Rubio – 74 games, 8.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 42.6 FG%, 28.8 3P%

Attempt #10: 34-48, 13th West

On the last attempt, the virtual Timberwolves disappointed. Dunn and LaVine both missed significant time due to injury.

However, Mr. Karl-Anthony Towns impressed, as always, and was nominated to the All-NBA Third Team.

Towns – 76 games, 20.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.7 blocks, 50 FG%, 31.9 3P%

Wiggins – 82 games, 21.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 blocks, 41.7 FG%, 27.8 3P%

LaVine – 38 games, 13.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1 SPG, 40 FG%, 36.6 3P%

Dunn – 39 games, 10.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 40.5 FG%, 26.5 3P%

Rubio – 80 games, 9.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 7.9 APG, 2.4 SPG, 41.1 FG%, 36.2 3P%

First, the Wolves traded Cole Aldrich and Jordan Hill to the Chicago Bulls for Robin Lopez and Paul Zipser. The second move they made was trading Nemanja Bjelica to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Andre Roberson.

To sum it all up:

Just one game into the 2016-17 season, the Timberwolves are 0-1 but showed exactly what they could be early in the first quarter in Memphis. The above possibilities are a wide range, but all seem realistic, at least on some level.

NBA 2k17 says that the playoffs are possible. So, why not?

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