Hanif, do you think of yourself more as a writer and poet or as a

Timberwolves fan? Oh, certainly a Timberwolves fan.

I was a Timberwolves fan before I wrote anything, before I aspire to write anything.

So I think my primary identity is that of a timber wool fan.

It feels like poets and dare I include rappers seem to have a natural connection to the game of Hoopes.

Why do you think that is?

Well, there's a type of lyricism in the game that I think can be easily mapped on to say Steph Curry hunting for a sliver of light through a screen or the very kind of intimate nature of a one can argue that not much of this kind of defense is played in the league anymore but the very intimate nature of a

of a one-on-one a defender and a ball handler kind of locked into a dance with each other trying to see which one

opens up their body in one direction first.

There's a lot of kind of, there's a lot of lyricism and beauty and metaphor to be found in the game, at least when it is played a certain way. One of the teams playing in a pretty lyrical wave right now are the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They're one of the NBA's top contenders battling for the number one seed in the west.

Today we turn our attention toward them with Hanif Abduriki,

a poet, writer, and critic whose book about basketball and ascension comes out this month.

As a lifelong timber wolves fan and astute observer of sports and culture, he takes us through

the story of how the T-Wolves got to this moment

how his relationship with the team shaped his life and where they could go from

here. I'm Clinton Yates. It's Friday, March 8th. This is ESPN Dale. This episode is brought to you by the EE Game Store.

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