Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the club has recalled rookie guard Malcolm Lee from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Lee appeared in three games for the Skyforce, averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 25.3 minutes. He tallied 16 points and dished out six assists on Feb. 7 vs. Dakota, had nine points and seven assists in a win over Idaho on Feb. 10, and recorded four points, four rebounds and five assists vs. Canton on Feb. 11.

Lee underwent successful surgery on Dec. 30, 2011 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He has not appeared in any games for the Wolves this season. 

A 6-5 guard from UCLA, Lee was drafted 43rd overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and acquired by the Wolves in a draft-day trade. He averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over his three-year collegiate career. Lee earned both First Team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Defensive Team honors in 2011 after averaging a career-best 13.1 points per game.

Per NBA rules, a first- or second-year player can be assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate a maximum of three times in a season.

Minneapolis/St. Paul – Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has been named to the 2012 Western Conference All-Star team, the National Basketball Association announced today. Love was named to the team via a balloting by NBA head coaches. The 2012 NBA All-Star Game will be played at Amway Center in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 26.

The honor is the second of Love’s career as he made his first appearance in last year’s game. Love is the second player in franchise history to make more than one All-Star Game appearance, joining Kevin Garnett (10 appearances). Tom Gugliotta, Wally Szczerbiak and Sam Cassell all made one appearance as a Timberwolves player. Love recorded two points and four rebounds in 12 minutes during the 2011 NBA All-Star Game at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

“I’m excited to be playing in the All-Star Game again and proud to be representing the Timberwolves organization at this premier event,” Love said. “I’m thankful to the NBA head coaches for voting me in, as well as to all the great Wolves fans that have been behind me and my teammates all season long.”

Love, the 2011-12 NBA leader in double-doubles with 22, ranks second in rebounding (13.7 rpg), fourth in scoring (25.0 ppg), first in free throw made (175) and first in minutes (39.4 mpg). He has tallied 30+ points seven times this season. Love has recorded seven 30-point/10-rebound games this season; no other player has more than four such games. He has notched 19 20-point/10-rebound games this season — 10 more than the next highest total.

Love scored a season-high 39 points and added 12 rebounds vs. Houston on Jan. 23.  He sank the game-winning three-pointer as time expired in the Wolves’ 101-98 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 20. Love started the season with eight-straight games of 20+ points and 12+ rebounds, the longest streak to start a season in the NBA since Kareem Adbul-Jabbar’s 10 consecutive to start the 1975-76 season.

Minneapolis/St. Paul – Minnesota Timberwolves rookies Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams have been selected to play in the 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 24 at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge will introduce an exciting new format to a game that has historically featured NBA rookies facing off against sophomores. For the first time, rookies and sophomores will be mixed together on teams. BBVA, the Official Bank of the NBA, will serve as the title partner of the new event. TNT Analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as the general managers of two opposing teams, each with nine man rosters, consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores drafted from a pool that was selected by the NBA’s assistant coaches, with each team submitting one ballot. Also, TNT’s Kenny Smith will serve as the honorary Commissioner and Ernie Johnson will host the live BBVA Rising Stars Challenge Draft on Thursday, Feb. 16, on NBA TV at 7 p.m. ET.

Rubio has been one of the top rookies this season, leading all first-year players in assists (9.1) and steals (2.44) and ranking third in scoring (11.2 ppg). He was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. Rubio is tied for first in the NBA in point/assist double-doubles with 11 and he ranks 12th overall in double-doubles. Overall, he ranks first in the league in steals and third in assists. Rubio has started the past 15 games, averaging 11.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 steals during this stretch, with the Wolves compiling a 10-5 record.

Rubio has scored a career-high 18 points three times this season and dished out a career-high 14 assists twice. Rubio’s six steals vs. Detroit on Jan. 18 were the most by a Wolves player since player since Kevin Garnett had seven vs. the L.A. Clippers on Jan. 27, 2007.

Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, is averaging 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds and 18.3 minutes in 25 games. Has scored in double figures 10 times in his rookie year – the most by an NBA rookie forward this season and has registered seven games of 10+ points and 6+ rebounds — tied for the most by an NBA rookie this season. Among rookies, Williams ranks sixth in scoring and seventh in rebounding.

Joining Rubio and Williams in the pool of players are rookies MarShon Brooks (New Jersey), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland), Brandon Knight (Detroit), Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio), Markieff Morris (Phoenix), Tristan Thompson (Cleveland) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte), and sophomores DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), Landry Fields (New York), Paul George (Indiana), Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers), Gordon Hayward (Utah), Greg Monroe (Detroit), Tiago Splitter (San Antonio), Evan Turner (Philadelphia), John Wall (Washington).