Anthony Edwards was 3-years-old the last time the Minnesota Timberwolves were this good.
LeBron James was a 19-year-old NBA rookie, fresh out of high school and trying to wear a crown for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Ant-Man and his high-flying T-Wolves hold a 2-1 Western Conference second-round series lead over NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, after starting a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs.
To find the last time Minnesota was this dominant, you have to open up the American history book, flip through two long decades, and go all the way back to 2004.
Myspace was the undisputed king of social media.
Facebook was brand new and unknown, launching at Harvard in Mark Zuckerberg's dorm room.
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George W. Bush was in his first term as President of the United States, while Tracy McGrady led the NBA in scoring, Mean Girls was a Hollywood smash hit, the Boston Red Sox had overcome a 3-0 playoff deficit against the New York Yankees to win their first World Series in 86 years, and Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck broke up.
In 2024, Minnesota entered Game 3 against Denver as the hottest team in the NBA, with TNT analyst Charles Barkley openly praising Edwards and the Timberwolves trying to turn a 56-26 regular-season into their first NBA title.
"In Dat Mode," Edwards posted on Instagram. "#LockIn."
Twenty years ago, Kevin Garnett won NBA MVP while leading his T-Wolves to a 58-24 record and the Western Conference finals, where Minneosta faced Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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"We expected to be here. We knew it wasn't going to be easy," said then-Minnesota head coach Flip Saunders, after the Timberwolves advanced to face the Lakers.
"But after you finish the season as the number one seed -- that's why you work to get home court. To have the crowd support like we had tonight. It was an extremely satisfying game."
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Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were beginning their NFL dynasty in 2004, beating the Carolina Panthers 32-29 in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Shrek 2 was the biggest movie, the super-slim Motorola Razr was the hottest phone, and Google's Gmail was still in beta mode.
The iPhone wasn't invented yet -- you had to wait until 2007 to make a call or send a text on Steve Jobs' greatest invention.
But the iPod Mini was available in different colors, while the iPod photo featured a special color screen.
Britney Spears was married for the second time.
Lance Armstrong was an inspirational worldwide figure and his LiveStrong bracelets were everywhere.
Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was the must-read book.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor of California, Usher had a music hit with Confessions, and the final episode of Friends was watched by 52.5 million viewers.
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Meanwhile, the 2004 Timberwolves featured Latrell Sprewell scoring 16.8 points a game and gritty point guard Sam Cassell running Saunders' offense.
Minnesota beat the now-familiar Nuggets 4-1 in the first round, then overcame the Sacramento Kings 4-3 in a tough second-round series to reach the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
The Timberwolves didn't enter the NBA until 1989 and have a 1147-1647 all-time record in 35 seasons of existence.
"I've had some really special moments on my birthday and I've had some really special presents, but nothing like this," a 28-year-old Garnett said.
Minnesota took two games against O'Neal and Bryant, but the powerful Lakers ultimately won 4-2 and advanced to the NBA Finals.
It took a huge upset by Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and the Detroit Pistons to prevent Los Angeles from another world title.
Twenty years later, Myspace is forgotten in the social media world, Mean Girls is a musical in London, while Lopez and Affleck are back together and married.
The world has significantly changed in the last 20 years.
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Downtown Minnesota will be buzzing and roaring for its NBA team in Game 4 against the Nuggets.
Ant-Man is the new KG, leading the best T-Wolves team since Facebook was still a college dream for Zuckerberg, who is now worth $163 billion.
