Lakers vs Timberwolves Game 1 Date and Time Officially Set

Game 1 of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves has been set.

The Lakers will host the Timberwolves on Saturday, April 19, at 5:30 p.m. PT.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin shared via X.

Lakers-Wolves Game 1 is Saturday at 8:30 ET/5:30 PT and will be aired on ABC.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 14, 2025

The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

Four of the eight first-round playoff series are officially locked in and scheduled to tip off on Saturday. Meanwhile, each conference's No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are slated to begin their postseason on Sunday. Those top seeds will have to wait a bit longer to find out their matchups, as their opponents will be determined through this week’s Play-In Tournament.

The Lakers will take on the Timberwolves after they defeated the Utah Jazz and got some help from the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat the Golden State Warriors on Sunday on the road.

L.A.'s season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers meant nothing to their seeding fate. That had been established on Friday after their win over the Houston Rockets.

Sunday's game meant nothing to the Lakers, and they showed it as their big three, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, didn't bother making the trip to the Pacific Northwest.

For the Lakers, it was more about scoreboard watching, as there were three different possibilities for their first-round match, and it ended up being Minnesota.

The Timberolwevs will present some problems for purple and gold in this series. After the Lakers' loss to the Blazers, head coach JJ Redick gave his initial thoughts on the matchup against the Wolves.

"We have a lot of work," Redick said. "They're a really good basketball team."

"It's a very difficult opponent," Redick said. "They've played as well as anyone lately, and I believe they're one of four teams in the top 10 in offense and defense. So, they present a lot of problems."

The Timberwolves closed the regular season with the league’s eighth-ranked offense, putting up 115.7 points per 100 possessions. Defensively, they were just as impressive, finishing sixth overall by holding opponents to 110.8 points per 100 possessions.

The Timberwolves closed the season with a 49-33 record, only one game back of the Lakers in the overall standings.

However, you could throw all that out the window as a new "season" is upon us. While this is a tough matchup, the Lakers are expected to take care of business, but it will be far from a walk in the park.

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