The Minnesota Timberwolves have spent the last three seasons proving they can be a force when the games matter most. They’ve gotten out of the first round every year, and they reached the conference finals in two of those runs. The problem has been everything before that.
The regular season hasn’t matched the playoff résumé. The 2023-2024 campaign stands as the one clear success, with Minnesota finishing third while hanging around the race for the top seed all year and ending just one game behind it. In the other two seasons, the Wolves landed sixth once and barely slipped past the Play-In another time.
That’s why the upcoming regular season may require a different mindset, especially with the NBA’s new lottery reform changing the way the league’s bottom teams behave. The new setup punishes teams for sinking too low in the standings, and that removes a major incentive for clubs to shut things down late.
Last year, teams such as the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, and Sacramento Kings had plenty of talent sitting out down the stretch. That kind of free pass is expected to be a lot harder to find now.
For Minnesota, that means fewer soft spots on the schedule and less room for mistakes. The Wolves can’t count on the same number of late-season opponents mailing it in. They’ll need to bring real focus night after night, even in games that don’t look glamorous on paper.
The point is simple: this roster has the talent to beat anybody, but it has to treat every night with the same urgency. A Tuesday game against the Kings needs the same edge as a primetime matchup with the Thunder. That approach would set them up better once the playoffs arrive.
There’s also a clear seeding payoff if Minnesota handles the regular season the right way. The Wolves have looked like the West’s third-best team over the last couple of seasons, sitting behind the Thunder and Spurs. With the Thunder losing some key rotational players to cap casualties this offseason, there’s at least a path for a new-look Wolves team to move into the top two.
That kind of finish matters. It would give Minnesota the chance to rest its top players if the spot is secure late in the year, and it would set up a first-round matchup against a play-in team rather than a contender.
For a team with this much ability, the challenge isn’t proving it can win when the lights are bright. It’s staying locked in through the long grind of the regular season, especially now that the league is expected to be more competitive than ever.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards No Longer Has To Carry The Wolves This Way
The Timberwolves finally have a clearer path for Anthony Edwards, and it starts with LaMelo Ball taking over the lead-guard duties. For a team that spent stretches asking Edwards to do a little bit of everything, the fit now looks cleaner: Ball can organize the offense, Edwards can settle into more of a natural scoring role, and Chris Finch believes the whole group benefits when the backcourt is defined that way.
Finch has made no secret that the new setup should streamline Minnesotas offense and make life easier for the players around its stars. The interesting part is how quickly that adjustment could ripple beyond the headline names, because Balls presence changes more than just where Edwards catches the ball. It gives the Wolves a different shape, a better flow, and a chance to see how much more efficient this group can be when the pieces stop overlapping so much. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Finch Just Sent A Powerful Message About Anthony Edwards
Chris Finch is still thinking about the way he handled Anthony Edwards after Game 1 of the Timberwolves 2025 semifinals series against the Warriors. On The Road Trippin' podcast, the Minnesota coach admitted he regretted criticizing his star guard in public, saying the call-out was unnecessary. It was a revealing moment from a coach who has usually leaned on trust and candor with his best player, and it said as much about Finchs standards as it did about the growing responsibility Edwards carries for this team.
Finch also made clear the relationship between the two remains strong, which matters for a Wolves group that has continued to build around Edwards rise as both a scorer and a leader. The more interesting part now is how naturally Edwards handled the response, turning it into a productive stretch for the rest of the series and reinforcing why Finch views him as more than just a talented young star. In a season where Minnesotas ceiling depends so heavily on Edwards growth, even a moment of friction seemed to underline how far he has come. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Interest In Jonathan Kuminga Just Hit A Serious Roadblock
Jonathan Kumingas market is starting to sort itself out, and from the Timberwolves perspective, the numbers have already done most of the talking. The Lakers have reportedly put together a sign-and-trade framework worth around $45 million, while other suitors have begun to pivot or narrow their focus elsewhere. Minnesota, along with Sacramento, has been interested, but only at a price point that reflects a much smaller commitment than Kuminga is likely looking for.
That leaves the Wolves in a familiar kind of bind: interested enough to monitor the situation, but not aggressive enough to move the needle on a player with real upside. Kuminga is not viewed as a veteran-minimum add-on, and he is not eager to settle for a short-term bargain deal while better offers are taking shape elsewhere. For Minnesota, the question is no longer whether he is on the radar, but whether there is any realistic path to getting him without outbidding the very market that has now made the roadblock obvious. [Read more 🡒]