Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. was an American professional gridiron football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Grant was head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for 18 seasons; he was the team's second (1967–83) and fourth (1985) head coach, leading them to four Super Bowl appearances, 11 division titles, one league championship and three National Football Conference championships. Before coaching the Vikings, he was the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 10 seasons, winning the Grey Cup four times.
Juwan Antonio Howard is an American former professional basketball player who was the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team from 2019 to 2024.
Raja Dia Bell is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Bobcats, and Golden State Warriors. He was twice named to the NBA All-Defensive Team in his career.
Marko Jarić is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Standing at 2.01 m, he mainly played the point guard position. He also represented the senior FR Yugoslavian national basketball team internationally. Jarić was an All-EuroLeague First Team member in 2002.
Al Ricardo Jefferson is an American former professional basketball player. He was a high school All-American for Prentiss High School in Mississippi before skipping college to enter the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted 15th overall by the Boston Celtics. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers, earning third-team All-NBA honors in 2014 with the Hornets.
Kristopher Nathan Humphries is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, and the Atlanta Hawks. Humphries played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota, and for the United States men's national basketball team.
Devean Jamar George is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), mostly as a backup small forward. He won three NBA championships during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. Since completing his basketball career George has become a real estate developer in his home state of Minnesota.
Joel Przybilla is an American retired professional basketball player who played the center position for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Louis Clyde Hudson was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player, who was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and a six-time NBA All-Star, scoring 17,940 total points in 13 NBA seasons.
William Clifford Musselman was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat."
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a member of the Northwest Division of the NBA's Western Conference. In order to persuade the NBA to give Minnesota a team, Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, the future owners of the organization, conducted a "name the team" contest and eventually selected two finalists, the "Timberwolves" and the "Polars", in December 1986. The team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner, as the "Timberwolves" prevailed. Minnesota was given a team, and took part in the 1989 NBA expansion draft with the Orlando Magic. The Timberwolves have since made eight playoff appearances, advancing to the Western Conference finals once during the 2003–04 NBA season, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Since the franchise's inception, 198 players have made an appearance in a competitive game for the team.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena.
Kevin Joseph Lynch is an American former professional basketball player who played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and six seasons in Europe.
Courtney James is an American retired professional basketball player. James played collegiately with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He started two seasons for the Gophers before leaving the team in a dispute over a year-long team-imposed suspension. James played with GS Larissa for part of a season in Greece before returning to continue his professional career in the United States. He joined the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association after some time off.
In 1994, several groups were involved in an attempt to relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana. The proposed relocation would have been the second involving a Minneapolis-based franchise in the span of two years, as Minneapolis had lost its National Hockey League (NHL) franchise to Dallas in 1993. Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner were considering selling the team due to problems with the mortgage on the Target Center, the team's arena that had been built only four years earlier as part of Minneapolis' 1989 entry into the NBA. The events of the attempted relocation resulted in Glen Taylor, businessman and former Minnesota State Senator, purchasing the team and keeping it in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in Minnesota boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball.
Tyus Robert Jones is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The older brother of NBA player Tre Jones, he previously played for his hometown team, the Minnesota Timberwolves for four seasons, before signing with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 offseason. After 4 seasons with the team, he was traded to the Washington Wizards. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils in his freshman season as part of the 2014–15 National Championship team.
Amir Coffey is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Jordan Bernard Murphy is a Puerto Rican-Virgin Islander professional basketball player who last played for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He is the all-time Golden Gopher career rebound and career double-double leader. He ranks second in Big Ten Conference history in career rebounds. Following his college career he has had multiple stints with teams in the NBA G League and multiple stints with the Leones de Ponce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
Akinfayoshe Daniel Oturu is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague, on a loan from Yukatel Merkezefendi. He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
