Today’s NBA has become about flash and personalities that are larger-than-life, but on October 25, none of that seemed to matter. On this day, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Phil “Flip” Saunders passed away after a hard fought battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
While there have been a lot of heartbreaking testimonials and kind words from people around the NBA, it would be disingenuous to talk about Flip as though he were a close personal friend. Although I did not know the late, great coach, he meant a lot to me and the overwhelming majority basketball fans in Minnesota.
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It seems wrong to talk about basketball after a man has lost his life, but Flip Saunders was a man who loved the game with his heart and soul.
Saunders was synonymous with basketball in Minnesota. After a successful career of playing alongside Kevin McHale at The University of Minnesota, he moved on to coach at Golden Valley Lutheran College and then to become an assistant coach with the Gophers.
From there, he would bounce around colleges and into the Continental Basketball Association before his old friend McHale gave him the job that would define his career for Minnesotans.
Saunders would become the most successful coach in Timberwolves history with 427 regular season victories. What’s more impressive is that he took this hobbling franchise and molded it into a team others needed to respect. His pièce de résistance on the court would come with his mentorship of Kevin Garnett and his strong leadership that led the Timberwolves to eight straight playoff appearances, including reaching the 2003-04 Western Conference Finals.
After his success with the Wolves, he moved around the Association, helping point guards like Chancy Billups and John Wall become the great players they were and are.
There really is no place like home though, as Flip would come back to the Wolves as coach in 2014 to fix what was one of the worst franchises in the league.
Even though he is gone, his finger prints can be seen all over this team. He brought in potential All-Star Andrew Wiggins for a disgruntled Kevin Love, drafted talented young players like Karl Anthony-Towns and Zach LaVine, and brought back KG, the prodigal son, to lead this group of young pups.
If that were all Flip accomplished, he still would be looked at favorably by Minnesotans everywhere, but Saunders did much more than that.
Flip genuinely loved Minnesota.
According to an interview with ESPN, Saunders explained how he felt about the state he so well represented.
“Well, you don't really understand unless you're from Minnesota. You really don't get it. Even when it snows on May 3 you really don't get it," Saunders said. "And the loyalty and the passion that the people have here is what always drives me back."
Saunders loved interacting with the fans, whether it was at the many fan events, the state fair, or at the games.
He and his family were heavily involved in the community through basketball camps, their time at the U of M, and through fundraisers and charities.
Saunders wanted to make an impact with the community he was a part of almost as much as he wanted to bring a title to people of the Land of 10,00 Lakes.
All of this is why we loved Flip so damn much and why it hurts so bad that he is gone. It feels like we lost a member of our community more than a coach for a professional sports team.
In death it is hard to look at the positive, but watching the video below should remind fans of the passionate and caring individual we lost and that Flip’s legacy will be remembered as long as the Timberwolves play in the Target Center, a fact that we should celebrate.
Here’s to you Flip Saunders. Rest in Peace.
