Jimmy Jam is a devoted supporter of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The composer and music producer discusses Kevin Garnett, how he was able to secure courtside tickets, keeping the Wolves in Minneapolis, and other topics.
Most notably, James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III is known for his collaboration with Terry Lewis, which produced and wrote songs for a number of well-known artists, including Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Usher, and the S.O.S. Band. Morris Day and the Time featured Jimmy Jam, who was infamously expelled from Prince’s band in the past. Since the Minnesota Timberwolves joined in NBA in 1989, the Rock & Roll of Hall of Famer is also well recognized for being their greatest celebrity fan club
Jimmy Jam’s iconic black was outfit seemed appropriate as the Timberwolves defeated the reigning of NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Sunday, in advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years.
wearing a top hat while seated close to the bench of his favorite team. Following the victory, Jimmy Jam, DJ Skee, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota; former guard Jamal Crawford, who is currently a TNT analyst; and former play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, who is currently a TNT commentator, got together for dinner to discuss basketball and share memories of the Timberwolves.
Jimmy Jam, a native of Minneapolis, was a season ticket holder alongside Lewis for the Timberwolves’ 1989–1990 NBA debut. During the team’s hard-luck early years, Jimmy Jam was a well-known character sitting courtside thanks to his trademark outfit.
Jimmy Jam a grew to be a mentor to his brother-in-law, Kevin Garnett, the all-time leading scorer for the Timberwolves. Jimmy Jam has also been a watching Timberwolves games from courtside whenever he can, despite the fact that he can currently resides in Los Angeles. He intends to attends the West finals after seeing two games in the Western Conference of semifinals against the Denver Nuggets.
Even though Jimmy Jam isn’t as close to the players as he was in the early years of the Timberwolves, they are aware of his attendance at the games.
The Timberwolves’ Chris Finch stated, “We’re building back our profile, which is one of the great things about this team and this season.” “We think it’s entertaining to watch our team. Enormous numbers of fans from all around the world are returning. How many Wolves supporters there have been in Phoenix and Denver has amazed me. They’re all welcome here. Having a member of Jimmy Jam’s caliber and background on the squad is also quite awesome.
Back then, I liked the music that he composed. That was a while ago, though. he watched one of the finest concerts I’ve ever seen, including Janet Jackson, in Sheffield, England country somewhere around 2009. Without a doubt, I enjoy his songs. That was a good time, and it corresponds with the period when the Wolves were very relevant.
Karl-Anthony Towns, a talented player for the Timberwolves, stated he is undoubtedly familiar with Jimmy Jam. When questioned about how many of the current players were aware of Jimmy Jam, Finch chuckled and responded, “Probably not.”
In an interview with Andscape on Monday, Jimmy Jam discussed his love for the Timberwolves, his formative years, his attempt to purchase the team alongside Lewis, Jackson, actor Denzel Washington, and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson; his relationship with Garnett and his potential for reconciliation with the team; his admiration for All-Star guard Anthony Edwards; his experience sitting next to Prince at games; and a host of other topics.
You were sitting beside the Minnesota bench at Ball Arena with DJ Skee and a sizable group of boisterous Timberwolves supporters. How did you find that encounter in Game 7?
Because there were Timberwolves supporters seated in every row behind the bench, it did, in fact, feel like a home game from where I was sitting. And then we were actually sitting close to the bench on the baseline. At least in that area, it seemed like you were at a Timberwolves home game since there were so many people roaring behind us.
Jimmy Jam, 64, said to Andscape, “I grew up watching and loving all sports, but basketball was my favorite.” Thus, supporting the T-Wolves brought together my two favorite things, basketball and Minnesota. It also took a while to get an NBA franchise after watching the Twins, Vikings, and North Stars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Jam_and_Terry_Lewis
How frequently do you now attend Wolves games?
Naturally, I’m drawn to the team’s success. And I recall having been there during the early, hard years. When KG [Garnett] was playing for the Timberwolves, I used to plan my itinerary around their games. However, it was back in those earlier days when Pooh Richardson was selected as the first draft choice. Although the team and I have a long history together, it is clear that they have seen some success in recent years.
They haven’t lost to the Nuggets in postseason games since I was there a few years ago, so I have a record to protect here.
That may not signify much, but the statistic does remain true. And then [Sunday’s] game, since it falls on KG’s birthday, and the fact that I was present in our previous successful Game 7 in Minnesota, which took place 20 years ago. Everything seemed to be in perfect alignment, hence to speak. And I made it a point to support the squad by being present.
Given how long it has been since the Timberwolves advanced to the conference finals once more, how did you feel as soon as it was confirmed?
It’s amusing since I was only enjoying it at the time. It was really fulfilling. Not that I actually planned ahead. “I know you’re coming to Minnesota,” people would ask me. You’re visiting Minnesota, right? I said, “Yeah, I’ll give it a shot, but I doubt I’ll be able to play the first two games due to my schedule.” However, I wasn’t even giving the prize—if you will—of the victory any thought. It was still a two- or three-possession game with a minute remaining, or whatever, and I was really in the moment of the actual triumph and the way that the team recovered. Seeing the Denver spectators start to go, I was
like, “Well, it’s not quite done yet.” Then I recall thinking, “No, it’s not over,” after we gave the ball over to Minnesota. Nevertheless, we had a forty-eight-minute game. It is now 47 minutes. We still need to finish this off.
But I was astonished, sort of. I was completely there in that moment, seeing the team members’ facial emotions as well as those of the coaches and everyone else. Man, it felt so fantastic since it had been a long time coming. Although it’s difficult to argue that someone deserves something, the Minnesota squad seemed deserving of the victory, and their methodical approach to it
They had a difficult slope to climb, but they succeeded. I’m not sure. That night, everything seemed to be in perfect balance.
Not really, though. I don’t actually know the players well. They are not that familiar to me. I suppose I could say that they are aware of me. However, no. I had supper with Kevin Harlan, who called the game exactly after it concluded. He had called the game 20 years prior, when we had won. Thus, we had a really fruitful discussion about that.
It was amazing that Jamal Crawford was there. My friend DJ Skee, who is from Minneapolis, was there, and we had a fantastic time talking about the past and other things. We were clearly delighted.
about the new days. So, yes, that was really awesome. A few participants just acknowledged with a nod.
I recall that Randy Breuer was our first draft selection after Pooh Richardson. Consequently, the broadcasters would declare, “They’re not booing, they’re saying ‘Pooh’ or ‘Breu,'” when the team would play very poorly and the audience would begin to jeer. The joke was that. And then when I would travel, I would try to plan my itinerary so that I could catch a game and sit courtside as the referees called calls if they were going to be in New York or Los Angeles.
Really, they would approach me and say, “Man, you’re loyal,” shaking their heads. They also had sympathy for me. But I was there, at least. I mean, I was there.
However, it is all I can recall from those years. Of course, the change that occurred when Kevin arrived was enormous. I recall speaking with [coach] Flip [Saunders] (may he rest in peace), who was ecstatic about Kevin but said, “I can’t tell anybody because we don’t want anybody to move up and [draft] him.” Basically, the top four choices were there. They just wanted to make sure that no one knew how happy they were about Kevin because that’s what they were going to be.
Thus, I recall that [Saunders] and [former general manager Kevin] McHale would both kind of minimize [Garnett] in the press. They might say, “Well, I’m not sure.” He seems somewhat youthful. Regarding taking a high school student, I’m not sure. However, [Saunders] later told me, “Oh my God,” on the side. I’ve never seen a player as great as this youngster. All they could do was adore him. I was thrilled to see [Garnett] and much more so when he arrived. I also really like the questions he posed. Essentially, what type of Minnesotan citizen am I required to be? He loved Kirby Puckett, too. He was aware of the affection Kirby Puckett was receiving up there.
We didn’t have courtside seats for the inaugural season, which was held at the Metrodome. According to the stadium’s layout, we were perhaps three or four rows back. And at that time, I believe there were five of us: myself, my wife Terry, his wife, and maybe one more seat that we kept for a friend, our child, or something similar. That’s what we had when they first relocated to Target Center. Tim Leiweke, who was the Timberwolves’ marketing director at the time, helped us secure courtside tickets. Of fact, he currently heads Oak View Group, which used to manage arena construction companies all over the world.
AEG. However, he added, “Hey, the Timberwolves should have a theme song.” We would want to have a theme music for our broadcasts, as they exit the stage, and other events. When he realized how much we loved him, we said, “Okay, great.” “But I don’t really have a budget for it,” he said. Tell me how I can make up for this by helping you folks. We then questioned, “How about courtside?” He responds, “That I can do.” That’s how we were able to secure courtside seats for the Wolves. In other words, music was essentially the medium through which that connection was created.
Who introduced Garnett to you?
We were given a chance to introduce ourselves. Byerlys was a shop located in Minnesota. Like a 24-hour market, it was. I recall stopping by to pick up some popcorn with my wife after the game. And KG was inside, which is how we ended up talking. We didn’t really meet at Target Center; instead, I watched him play, so our first interaction was about an hour long as we waited in the parking lot. “Hey, man, other than Kirby Puckett and Prince, I don’t know anything about Minnesota,” he said.
He was certain that the basketball would take care of itself. He was curious about the type of citizen he would have to
You obviously sat courtside early on and saw prime Michael Jordan. You subscribe to those comparisons with Anthony?
I doubt that I adhere to it to the same extent as others. I notice parallels. There must be a differentiation. The final result comes to mind when I think about Michael Jordan. The six [championship] rings come to mind. The Last Dance, a documentary, comes to mind. That’s how Michael Jordan comes to mind. It was a different story in those early games that Doug Collins was coaching, if I were to view them again on YouTube or another platform. Yes, there are clearly parallels between what is and what people are perceiving. It’s difficult for me to draw the parallel, though, since when I see Jordan, I still perceive him as the final product.
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However, I believe Ant possesses every attribute, including leadership, as Jordan’s weakness was his intangibles. And in terms of leadership, the capacity to motivate and guide a wide range of individuals, and truly inspiring people, I think Ant possesses some of the same intangibles.
Did you contribute in any way to the Timberwolves’ arrival in Minneapolis?
Other than being pleased that they were visiting Minneapolis, I had no involvement in their arrival. I could have had a small part in their decision to remain in Minneapolis. There was a moment when we assembled a group named after Magic Johnson since we were about to relocate to New Orleans. It was the 1994 All-Star Game. And I recall
When Magic visited the city, he was interviewed and one of their questions was, “We hear that the ownership is having some trouble.” They might shuffle the team. Who do you believe would make a suitable owner?