top seed in the Western Conference with a record of 58–24. Garnett had his best season to date, and both Sprewell and Cassell had career years as well. Garnett and Cassell both made the all-star team, and after the season, Garnett was named 1st Team All NBA, and earned his first MVP award averaging 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. During the 2004 NBA playoffs, the Wolves won their first-ever playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, before beating the Sacramento Kings in a hard-fought seven-game series to advance to the franchise's first Western Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett leapt upon the scorer's table upon the winning Game 7 in the Sacramento series, which became one of the more iconic moments in Minnesota sports history. The Timberwolves' run ended in the Western Conference finals as the team lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sam Cassell injured his groin during Game 7 against the Kings, doing his infamous big balls dance after knocking down the series-clinching bucket, and as a result, played only sparingly during the Lakers series. Many around the NBA, including both Flip Saunders and Phil Jackson believe that had he been healthy, the Wolves would have advanced to the finals. Departure of Flip Saunders Going into the 2004–05 season, the Wolves roster remained virtually the same from the previous season; however, Babcock left to become the general manager of the Toronto Raptors, and the team was also plagued with contract disputes and the complaining of key players Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, and Troy Hudson during the off-season. After a disappointing start to the season, Head Coach Flip Saunders was replaced by general manager and long-time friend Kevin McHale, who took over as coach for the rest of the season. Despite a strong finish, the Timberwolves missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years, by one game, to the Memphis Grizzlies, ending the season with a record of 44–38. During the 2005 offseason, McHale and the Wolves started their search for a head coach. McHale interviewed Seattle SuperSonics assistant coach Dwane Casey, San Antonio Spurs assistant P. J. Carlesimo, former coach John Lucas and Wolves assistants Randy Wittman, Sidney Lowe and Jerry Sichting, among others. On June 17, 2005, the Timberwolves hired Casey as the new head coach. It was Casey's first head coaching job, making him the Wolves' seventh head coach in their 16-year history.