With their thrilling, last-second, 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves earned their fourth victory of the 2010-2011 NBA season. This gives them more victories than the Minnesota Vikings have this NFL season, as the Vikings currently only have three victories.
Now, this probably doesn't sound like a big deal, and normally it wouldn't be ... unless, of course, you take into account how long it took for the same thing to occur last season.
Last year, the Minnesota Vikings took the field 18 times, and won 13 games. The Timberwolves took to the hardwood 82 times, and won but 15. With that in mind, here's the timeline for when each team reached their various victory plateaus. Keep in mind, the 2009 NFL season started on Sept. 10, 2009, while the 2009-2010 NBA season started on Oct. 28, 2009.
Vikings 2009-2010 | Victories | Timberwolves 2009-2010 |
Sept. 13, 2009 (1-0) | 1st Victory | Oct. 28, 2009 (1-0) |
Sept. 20, 2009 (2-0) | 2nd Victory | Nov. 29, 2009 (2-15) |
Sept. 27, 2009 (3-0) | 3rd Victory | Dec. 5, 2009 (3-17) |
Oct. 5, 2009 (4-0) | 4th Victory | Dec. 14, 2009 (4-21) |
Oct. 11, 2009 (5-0) | 5th Victory | Dec. 18, 2009 (5-22) |
Oct 18, 2009 (6-0) | 6th Victory | Dec. 23, 2009 (6-24) |
Nov. 1, 2009 (7-1) | 7th Victory | Dec. 26, 2009 (7-24) |
Nov. 15, 2009 (8-1) | 8th Victory | Jan. 8, 2010 (8-29) |
Nov. 22, 2009 (9-1) | 9th Victory | Jan. 18, 2010 (9-33) |
Nov. 29, 2009 (10-1) | 10th Victory | Jan. 29, 2010 (10-38) |
Dec. 13, 2009 (11-2) | 11th Victory | Jan. 31, 2010 (11-38) |
Jan. 3, 2010 (12-4) | 12th Victory | Feb. 5, 2010 (12-38) |
Jan. 17, 2010 (13-4) | 13th Victory | Feb. 6, 2010 (13-38) |
-------- | 14th Victory | Feb. 23, 2010 (14-44) |
-------- | 15th Victory | Mar. 31, 2010 (15-60) |
Yes, the 2009-2010 Wolves had two separate occasions in 2010 where they went more than a full month between victories (between victories 1 and 2, and between victories 14 and 15).
Have to wonder if there will be an occasion this year when the Vikings will surpass the Timberwolves' win total. Given the direction that each team is going, it really doesn't seem likely.