You don't have to go back that far in history to find a long stretch of time during which the Timberwolves were a national joke and a local punchline.
You don't even have to go back a year to find a franchise at a potential crossroads, with plenty of questions about the viability of a plan to pair Rudy Gobert with Karl-Anthony Towns after a clunky first season and early first-round playoff exit during the 2022-23 season.
The rehabilitation, then, of the Wolves' image — whether you want to go back one year, several years or a few decades — over the last several months has been nothing short of remarkable.