The basketball world was hit with tragedy on the afternoon of October 25th, when it was revealed that then-Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders had passed away after a grueling two-month battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Saunders was unarguably the greatest coach in Minnesota Timberwolves' franchise history. He led the franchise to all of it's 8 playoff appearances and even got the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals in 2004, where the Wolves were defeated by the star-studded, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers.

Ever since Minnesota's dominant 2003-04 campaign, the Wolves have never made the playoffs since. The team's last winning season coincided with Saunders' final season in his first run as the Wolves' head coach. Saunders had been the head coach of the team for a decade at this point, and eight of his 10 Minnesota teams in this run had made the playoffs.

When Saunders was fired by the team after the 2005 team, one in which the Wolves missed the playoffs despite having a 44-38 record, many questioned what the Wolves' front office was thinking firing by far the winningest coach in franchise history, in addition to the only coach who ever guided the Wolves to a winning record. While he was in Minnesota, Saunders oversaw the transformation of Kevin Garnett from a young player entering the NBA straight out of high school into an elite-level basketball player, even winning an MVP award in 2004.

Saunders would move on to coach the Detroit Pistons from 2005-2008. His coaching genius went with him to Motor City, as he led the Pistons to a franchise-record 64 wins and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2005-06. After three seasons in Detroit, the Pistons' front office fired Saunders, getting rid of a coach that led the Pistons to three Eastern Conference Finals in a row. Again, Saunders left a franchise in that team's last winning season, as the Pistons have yet to have a winning season since Saunders' departure, and have only made the playoffs once in the same time.

The one team that Saunders was unable to lead to success was the young Washington Wizards. After two and a half seasons as the Wizards head coach, Saunders was relieved of his duties in mid-2012, finishing with a cumulative record of 51-130 in Washington.

Saunders returned to the Timberwolves as the team's general manager in 2013. After Rick Adelman was fired as the head coach, Saunders returned to coaching duties for the 2014-2015 season. Facing one of the youngest teams he's ever played with, the Wolves staggered to a 16-66 record, the worst in the league last season. Nevertheless, Saunders coached names like Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad, and Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins into relevancy in the league. The season also saw the return of the greatest player in the franchise's history, as Kevin Garnett returned to the team after being traded by the Brooklyn Nets. Garnett was elated to be reunited with his longtime coach, and looked to continue their strong relationship through 2015.

Unfortunately, this would not be possible.

During his second stint with Minnesota, Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The head coaching duties were delegated to assistant coach Sam Mitchell, and his general manager duties were delegated to Milt Newton.

After a two-month battle with cancer, Saunders lost his on October 25th, two days before the start of the NBA season, and three days before the Timberwolves' first game of the year. The team received the news during a team practice, and practice was paused so that the grieving players could honor their coach.

No one seemed to take the loss harder than Garnett, who walked out of practice and took a seat in Saunders' vacant parking space in the team facility. Saunders and Garnett had a "father-son relationship" in the latter's words, a relationship rarely seen in professional sports.

The league honored him on opening night with a tribute in its games. The Timberwolves and their opening day opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, honored Saunders with a tribute video. NBA coaches will wear a lapel pin this season in honor of Saunders. The Wolves have played their games this year with heavy hearts, and have played with great results, currently 2-0.

While the team may wish Mitchell all the luck in the world as the new coach, it is an abrupt shift at the head coaching job, and the organization still wishes Flip was on the sideline with the team.