On Sunday night in downtown Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves opened their home schedule with a 114-110 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Given the Pacers’ lengthy injury report
, it was a game the Wolves needed to win. Despite Anthony Edwards playing just over three minutes, leaving the game with right hamstring tightness, the Timberwolves found a way to scratch out a win on the back of Julius Randle’s 31-point night.While the game itself would normally be the main attraction, what stole the show
were a number of new and improved elements within Target Center.
After many years of fans clamoring for their return, the black tree jerseys are back with a new throwback court to go along with them. The Wolves will use this throwback jersey and court combo 21 times this season, more than half of their 41 home games. Add in the seven games they are scheduled to use their Prince-Inspired jerseys and court, and Minnesota will only use their standard branding at 13 home games this season.
That wasn’t the only improvement inside Target Center, as the Timberwolves unveiled their new theater-style lighting. The new upgrades were installed during the offseason and completely change the vibe of watching a Timberwolves game.
The main difference is that it was noticeably darker inside the arena. Instead of the entire arena being lit uniformly, now the fans are partially in the dark, similar to a Broadway show. While people can certainly still see where they are going, the higher contrast in brightness between the seats and the action on the court makes the actual game feel all the more important.
After the game, Wolves players up and down the roster had high praise for the changes. Naz Reid praised both the new lighting and the return of the black tree jerseys.
“I liked them. It was like a cinema. I liked it. With the black uniforms. It fits the vibe. I like it a lot.
We haven’t had black uniforms since my second or third year. I’m a big fan of wearing black so I love it. Obviously having the lights on us. It’s a good fit for me and I’m sure it’s a good fit for us.“
Randle had a similar feeling walking into the arena, reminiscing about his time with the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) has a similar style of lighting as the Timberwolves do now.
“That was sick. It was so cool. It brought me back to my Staples center days. When I walked out there, I texted my wife immediatley. I got off the court was like, ‘The lighting is sick.’ It was cool as hell. Kudos to the new ownership group for making that change. It made it seem like we were playing in a movie when we were out there.”
Jaylen Clark, who grew up in Riverside, California, had praise for not just the new lighting and branding inside Target Center, but for the state of Minnesota as a whole and all the diehard sports fandom across the Twin Cities.
“Oh, it’s dope. It reminds of LA or Madison Square [Garden]. It made it hard for me to find my mom and girlfriend, but I like the whole atmosphere here, man. Minnesota’s dope. I tell everybody back in California, because like when we grew up, Minnesota was just kind of like somewhere in the middle of the map, where we don’t really know, so I be telling them we actually care about sports here. In LA, I mean y’all have been. You’re just there for the show and you go home. Here, people actually care about it. They breathe, bleed Vikings, Timberwolves, Twins. So it’s just super dope, man. I’ve had a great time since I’ve been here.”
Target Center has been one of the worst venues to attend a sporting event, both locally and across the NBA. Many aspects of the building are outdated and lack the amenities that are now commonplace across sports. Add in the litany of bad Timberwolves teams that have taken the floor, and it’s no surprise that Target Center received its poor reputation.
With the team now finding success in the past couple of seasons, the atmosphere inside Target Center finally matches the quality of the team on the court. While a lighting change may seem trivial, it’s another indication that the new Timberwolves ownership group, led by Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, is willing to invest in the team and the franchise
For years, Target Center has been a brutal place to watch a basketball game. The teams were terrible, the crowds were quiet, and the game presentation was just bad. Now, with one simple change and a small extra investment in the product, every Timberwolves home game feels like the big event every fan dreamed it one day could be.
