Jimmy Jam has always been a loyal Minnesota Timberwolves fan

James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III is most famous for teaming up with Terry Lewis and producing and songwriting for such stars as Janet Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Usher, and the S.O.S. Band, among others. Jimmy Jam also was once famously kicked out of Prince’s band years ago and played with Morris Day and the Time. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is also well known for being the Minnesota Timberwolves’ biggest celebrity fan since the team joined the NBA in 1989.

When the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years after knocking off the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Sunday, it was only fitting that Jimmy Jam was dressed in his signature black with a top hat in a courtside seat by his beloved team’s bench. After the win, Jimmy Jam; St. Paul, Minnesota, native DJ Skee; former Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford, now a TNT analyst; and former Timberwolves play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, now a TNT announcer, met for dinner and talked hoops and reminisced about the Timberwolves.

“I grew up watching and loving all sports, but basketball was my favorite,” Jimmy Jam, 64, told Andscape. “So being a T-Wolves fan combined the two things I loved: Minnesota and basketball. And after watching the Vikings, Twins and North Stars, it was a long wait to finally get an NBA team.”

Jimmy Jam is a Minneapolis native who had season tickets with Lewis when the Timberwolves debuted in the NBA during the 1989-1990 season. With his signature look, Jimmy Jam was a well-known figure sitting courtside during the team’s lean early years.

Jimmy Jam became a mentor to the Timberwolves’ all-time leading scorer Kevin Garnett, his brother-in-law. And although Jimmy Jam lives in Los Angeles now, he has been sitting courtside for Timberwolves games when possible. He attended two games in the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets and plans to attend the West finals.

While Jimmy Jam isn’t as close to the players now as he was during the Timberwolves’ early years, they are aware of his presence at the games.

“One of the things that have been great about this team and this season is we’re building back our profile,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We feel like we have a fun team to watch. Fans are coming back in droves from all over the place. I’ve been impressed by how many Wolves fans have been in Phoenix and Denver. We welcome them all. And to have some of Jimmy Jam’s stature and history with the team is pretty cool.

“I was a fan of the music he produced back in the day. But that was a long time ago. One of the best concerts I ever saw was in Sheffield, England, around 2009 with Janet Jackson. I’m definitely a fan of his music. That era was fun and aligns with the era of when the Wolves were last relevant.”

Timberwolves star forward Karl-Anthony Towns said he is definitely familiar with Jimmy Jam. When asked if most of the current players knew who Jimmy Jam was, Finch laughed and said, “Probably not.”

Jimmy Jam spoke to Andscape on Monday about his love of the Timberwolves, the early years, his bid to buy the team with Lewis, Jackson, actor Denzel Washington and Los Angeles Lakers legendt Magic Johnson, his relationship with Garnett and whether he will reconcile with the franchise, his adoration of All-Star guard Anthony Edwards, sitting next to Prince at games, what an NBA title would mean to Minneapolis and much more.

You, DJ Skee and a large contingent of loud Timberwolves fans sat by the Minnesota bench at Ball Arena. What was that experience like in Game 7?

Well, it felt like a home game sitting by the bench because the all the rows behind the Timberwolves bench were all Timberwolves fans. And then we were sitting on the baseline right next to the bench, literally. So, there were so many people behind us and they were cheering and it really felt like you were at a Timberwolves home game, at least in that section.

How often do you go to Wolves games now?

I’m attracted, obviously, to the success of the team. And I remember, I was there in the lean years at the beginning. I would make my schedule around Timberwolves games back when KG [Garnett] was playing. But even before that, we’re talking about when Pooh Richardson was the first draft choice, and it was back in those days. So, my roots go really deep with the team, but obviously they started having some success in the last few years …

I have a record to uphold here because they haven’t lost to the Nuggets, at least in the last couple of years in playoff games when I was there. So not that that means anything, but it is a stat that actually holds up. And then [Sunday’s] game, because of the alignment with KG’s birthday, the fact that the last Game 7 that was in Minnesota that we won, I was at that game 20 years ago. So, it just all felt like aligned in the best possible way. And I made it a point to be there and cheer the team on.

Knowing how long it’s been since the Timberwolves have made the conference finals again, what was that emotion like right after it was official?

It’s funny because I just was so in the moment just enjoying it. It felt very satisfying. I didn’t even really project ahead. People asked me, ‘I know you’re coming to Minnesota? I know you’re coming to Minnesota?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to try, but my schedule probably won’t allow me to get to the first two games. But I wasn’t even thinking so much about the reward, if you will, of the win. I just was so in the moment of the actual win and the way that the team came back, seeing the Denver crowds start to leave, it was still a two- or three-possession game with a minute to go or whatever, and they started leaving and I was, like, going, ‘Well, it’s not totally done yet.’ And then I remember we turned the ball over on Minnesota and it’s like, ‘No, it’s still not over. We still got to play a 48-minute game. We’re at 47 minutes. We still got to close this thing out.’

But it kind of surprised me. I was so just in the moment of that and then watching the guys on the team, watching their expressions and the coaching staff and just everybody; man, it just felt so good because it’s been so long coming. But it’s tough when you say somebody deserved something, but it did feel like the Minnesota team deserved that win, and the way they went about doing it where they had that tough hill to climb but they figured it out. I don’t know. It just was everything was right about that night.

Did any of the players or anyone from the organization approach you afterward?

No, not really. I’m not really close to the players. I don’t know them that well. They’re aware of me, I guess I would say. But no. Literally after the game, I ended up having dinner with Kevin Harlan, who called the game of course, and he called the game 20 years ago when we won. So, we had a great conversation about that. Jamal Crawford was there, which was great. DJ Skee was there, who is my buddy from Minneapolis, and we just had a great time just kind of reminiscing about the old days and stuff, and obviously excited about the new days. So, yeah, it was really cool. A couple of the players just kind of nodded and acknowledged.

What are your recollections of the Wolves during the lean early years?

I remember Pooh Richardson was our first draft choice, and then we had Randy Breuer on the team. And so, when the team would play really bad and the crowd would start booing and the announcers would say, ‘They’re not booing, they’re saying ‘Pooh’ or ‘Breu.’ That was the joke. And then when I’d go on the road, I’d try to arrange my schedule if they were going to be in New York or if they were going to be in L.A., I would try to make my schedule so that I could catch a game and I would sit courtside and the refs literally would come up to me and just go, just shake their heads and just go, ‘man, you’re loyal.’ And they felt sorry for me. But at least I was there. At least I showed up.

But that’s what I remember about those years. Obviously, the turnaround when Kevin came, which was such a huge thing, and I remember talking to [coach] Flip [Saunders] — rest in peace, Flip — and he was so excited about Kevin, but he was like, I can’t tell anybody because we don’t want anybody to move up and [draft] him. The first four picks were basically there. They were going to be what they were, but they just wanted to make sure that nobody knew how excited they were about Kevin.

And so, I remember even in the press, both [Saunders] and [then-general manager Kevin] McHale would just kind of downplay [Garnett]. They’d go, ‘Well, I don’t know. He’s kind of young. I don’t know about taking a high schooler.’ But then on the side [Saunders] told me, he said, ‘Oh my God. This kid is the most amazing player I’ve ever seen.’ They just loved him. So, I was really excited when [Garnett] came and then I was even more excited to meet him, and I loved the questions he asked. Basically, what kind of citizen do I need to be in Minnesota. He was a huge Kirby Puckett fan. He knew the love the people had for Kirby Puckett up there, and I just told him, ‘Man, just play basketball. You don’t have to worry about anything else. They just want to see you work hard and play, give an honest effort.’ Obviously, he was beloved.

How did you and Terry Lewis end up getting courtside seats?

The first season was at the Metrodome, and we didn’t have courtside seats. We were probably three or four rows back in the configuration of the stadium. And I think we had five seats because at that point it was myself, my wife Terry, his wife, and I think we just had an extra seat just to have one for a friend or one of our kids or something like that. That was initially what we ended up having when they moved to Target Center. The way we ended up getting courtside seats was Tim Leiweke, who was the marketing director at that time for the Timberwolves. He now, of course, he runs Oak View Group, which builds arenas everywhere now, and used to run AEG. But anyway, he said, ‘Hey, the Timberwolves need a theme song. We want to have a theme song for when they come out onto the floor and for our broadcasts and all of that kind of stuff.’ And he knew we were big fans, and we said, ‘OK, great.’ And then he said, ‘But I don’t really have a budget for it. Let me know what I can do for you guys to compensate you. And we said, ‘What about courtside? And he says, ‘That I can do.’ And so that’s how we got our courtside seats with the Wolves. So basically, once again, music was the connection that made that happen.

Who introduced you to Garnett?

Well, we got introduced to ourselves. There was a store up in Minnesota called Byerlys. It was like a 24-hour market. I remember coming from the game, I stopped through with my wife to grab some popcorn. And KG was in there and we ended up having this conversation. We actually stood in the parking lot and probably talked for an hour, and that was our first conversation because I watched him play but we didn’t actually meet at Target Center. And he just said, ‘Hey, man, I don’t know anything about Minnesota other than Kirby Puckett and I know Prince.’

He knew the basketball was going to take care of itself. He wanted to know what kind of citizen he needed to be to work in Minnesota. And I just thought that’s a great question. When somebody asks you that question and actually is going to respect and listen to what you say as an elder, I felt very honored to be asked and happy that I could give him some advice … It wasn’t nothing about money or being famous or anything. And we had music conversations, obviously, but that was what he asked … I didn’t tell him what to do. I just gave him experiences that I had from living and growing up in Minnesota, and just kind of the things that I thought people would expect from him.

He actually went to his first All-Star Game as an alternate. I remember the [NBA’s] 50 greatest players were there. And I remember telling him that off the court was the important thing. And he went to talk to every single player. I remember [Charles] Barkley coming up to me, Magic and a lot of the players coming up to me and going, ‘Hey, man, your guy KG knows more about me than I do.’ He was quoting stats to them and quoting history to them, and they really appreciated that. And he didn’t have a great All-Star Game on the court, but I told him it’s more important off the court. And he went another 14 years as an All-Star. There are a lot of talented players, but when you start having the face of the league discussions, that’s a very elevated, exclusive thing. And KG understood his role and embraced it. It’s tough to teach that, but I think he definitely embraced it.

There has been a rift between Garnett and Wolves owner Glen Taylor. Do you think KG and the franchise will ever reconcile? Do you see a day when KG will be comfortable having his jersey retired there as he did in Boston?

I would love to see that happen. He certainly should have his jersey retired. The fact that he has a jersey retired in Boston, which is great, by the way, because he’ll become one of the few players to have jerseys [retired] in multiple places. But there is a pretty deep rift with the ownership, the current ownership, and a lot of it’ll have to do with what happens with A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez] and Marc [Lore] become majority owners. A-Rod and KG were very close at one point. I don’t know whether they still are, but I know at one point they were very close.

So, if it is a A-Rod ownership, there would be a jersey retirement imminent. If it stays under Glen, I’m not sure. But I’d love to try to [help the relationship], not that I’m a negotiator or anything or a peacekeeper, but there is a bigger picture. I understand whatever personal issues you have, and I totally get that, but I maybe in the spirit of the fans or maybe the other things, the other intangibles, maybe that there’s a way to work it out. I certainly hope that there is, because obviously his jersey needs to be retired, and the foundation of the Minnesota Timberwolves is built on Kevin Garnett. There’s no question about it.

Can you see KG going to any remaining playoff games now or there’s probably too much there?

KG is going to some games. You can’t let your hatred for someone override your love of the sport you grew up loving.

Everybody’s favorite player, man, the so-called face of the league [Anthony Edwards]. I’m a big Ant-Man fan. There are so many great things about him, and he’s so young. He’s just scratching the surface to me of what he can become and in a different way. I watched KG at a very young age become the leader of the team, and it’s very apparent as you watch the not much older players, but you definitely watch the older players take their cues from Ant, which is pretty amazing to me. He’s definitely my favorite player.

You obviously sat courtside early on and saw prime Michael Jordan. You subscribe to those comparisons with Anthony?

I probably don’t subscribe to it as much as other people do. I see similarities. There needs to be a distinction. When I think of Michael Jordan, I think of the finished product. I think of the six [championship] rings. I think of The Last Dance documentary. I think of Michael Jordan like that. If I go back and watch on YouTube or whatever, if I go back and watch those early games where when Doug Collins was coaching, it was a different thing. Yes, I can definitely see similarities to what it is and what people are seeing. But I think for me, when I see Jordan, I still see him as the finished product, so it’s hard for me to make the comparison.

But I think Ant has all of the qualities, the leadership qualities, because with Jordan it was the intangibles with him. And I feel like Ant has some of those same intangibles as far as, once again, leadership, the ability to inspire people and lead people, and really an assortment of people.

Did you play any role in the Timberwolves coming to Minneapolis?

I didn’t play any role in them coming to Minneapolis other than being happy about it. I may have played a little role in them staying in Minneapolis. At one point in time, where there was a move to New Orleans that was imminent, and we put a group together after actually Magic Johnson. It was All-Star Game 1994. And I remember Magic came to town and they did an interview with him, and they asked him, ‘We hear that the ownership is having some trouble. They might move the team. Who do you think would be a good owner?’ And he said, ‘I think Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would be good owners.’ And I remember the next day we got a call from [then-NBA commissioner] David Stern and from [then-deputy commissioner] Adam Silver, and they were like, ‘Hey, what do you guys think?’ And we were like, ‘Well, we just don’t want the team to leave, so if we can somehow do something about that.’

We got Magic involved. We had Janet involved, we had Denzel Washington. We put a little group together, and of course, by the time we got everything done, Glen Taylor just stepped in and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to buy the team, and you guys could come in with me.’ And at that point, the [Los Angeles] Lakers had gotten wind that Magic was really interested in ownership, and I think he went with the Lakers as he should have at that point in time. But we said to Glen, ‘No, we didn’t really care about owning a team necessarily. We just didn’t want the team to leave.’ And I think we achieved that because we held things up long enough where they were able to figure it out. So, I think we probably played a part in that.

Do you regret not pushing forward to get ownership now?

No, I don’t really regret it because like I said, the goal was really for the team to stay. I just wanted to be a fan. Obviously, it would’ve been lucrative. I guess it would’ve been great from that standpoint. But we just wanted to make music, and that was really our focus. And Terry and I never got into a whole lot of extracurricular things. Not that that’s a bad or good or bad thing, but we just really wanted to concentrate on making music. And the games were sort of our escape from that. Literally, we’d come to watch the Wolves for 2½ hours or whatever, and then we’d go right back to the studio and go back to work. I don’t think we wanted owning a team to be our work, but we did want the team to stay. And that happened.

And I remember after that, I remember every time we’d see David Stern, he’d say, ‘Hey, Golden State is for sale, and so-and-so’s for sale.’ It was like, ‘No, thanks. That’s not what we really want to do. But obviously Golden State would’ve been great, but that really wasn’t what we wanted to do. So, we don’t have any regrets about it. And like I say, the fact that the team has still stayed in Minnesota, to me is the best thing.

What was it like when Prince came to games?

It was great. He was such a huge fan of basketball. He played basketball when he was in high school and was great. He was very much like Stephen Curry, great handles, great shot. He had the biggest afro in the world, I remember. And when he’d come up to court, the girls would all go, ‘Prince!’ They loved Prince. And he had an older brother, Dwayne, who was basically looked like Prince, but was like 6-3, 6-4, big, tall dude. So, yeah, that was a great experience. And of course, he decided to do music. But funny enough, Sunset Sound where he worked out of had a basketball hoop and he could beat everybody at H-O-R-S-E because he could hit it off the roof of the building, off a branch, and he could make all these kind of crazy trick shots and stuff that nobody could make. But he was a huge basketball fan.

Janet was becoming a huge basketball fan. She grew up where all her brothers were huge basketball fans. So, she had grown up in the basketball environment. They would always play charity games, and then they’d always go to games, and they were into it. Matter of fact, I remember when we were working on the HIStory album with Michael [Jackson], I remember I was trying to get to a Clippers game, and he had me in the studio and he had me doing this keyboard bass part. And I remember saying to him, ‘Michael. I got to go.’ And he says, ‘Oh, you’re going to the game? My brothers always used to do that. I was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ So, I ended up going to the game, but he understood.

But so, Janet was into it. And then when Janet would come, she’d sit courtside with us, and she loved it. She totally enjoyed it. She was actually going to be part of our ownership group if that happened. So, she was into it to that point where she thought it would be great.

What would it mean for you to see the Timberwolves go to the NBA Finals, let alone win it?

I’m still in the afterglow of [Sunday]. I haven’t even started thinking about down the line. And somebody just sent me the schedule so I know what the games are, so I can see what I can try to make it. But it would mean a lot. I just haven’t got my head wrapped around yet. I’m still in the afterglow of just being able to see it last night …

It would be great. Just not I’m, my headspace just isn’t there yet. It’s literally one game at a time.