How Minnesota Injuries Could Impact OKC Thunder's Playoff Path

The Thunder's 2025 conference finals foe has been hit hard by the injury bug in the first round.

Dec 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) looks to pass as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) defends him in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City is the favorite to make it back to the NBA Finals, but its path through the West may have taken a turn on Saturday night.

After the Thunder went into Phoenix to secure a 3-0 lead on the Suns in their first-round series, attention turned to action around the rest of the league, including Game 4 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. While the end result saw the Timberwolves take a surprising 3-1 lead over the Nuggets, they also saw some incredible misfortune go their way.

Just a couple of minutes into the game, Donte DiVincenzo suffered a torn Achilles, ending his season after such an impactful start for the Timberwolves. Although Ayo Dosunmu’s 43-point night was enough to secure a win, Anthony Edwards also went down with an injury in the first half.

While Shams Charania reported no ligament damage for the star guard, Edwards is set to miss multiple weeks with a bone bruise and hyperextension, which will have a major impact on the postseason picture in the West. Considering the injury issues that have now flared up for Minnesota, its hopes of getting to a third-straight conference finals are likely dashed.

With their starting backcourt out for the rest of the series, a 3-1 comeback for Denver is on the table, even with Aaron Gordon’s lingering calf issues. Ultimately, this likely puts the Thunder on a collision course with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. 

While the Nuggets have won a title and come back from a 3-1 deficit with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the past, they’ve simply not played up to expectations. Although a second-round matchup against a young Spurs team could still be a war, as is expected based on the final weeks of the regular season, the conference finals may virtually be set already.

Assuming Victor Wembanyama faces no unexpected setbacks from his concussion and his team gets by Portland without much more trouble, the Spurs should be the clear favorite against whoever they face in the second round. While Jalen Williams will likely miss at least part of the second round, the Thunder should still be able to take care of business.

For yet another year, it looked like the Timberwolves were able to turn it on when the playoffs began and had started to look like a real threat to make it back to the Western Conference Finals. Although Edwards’ season isn’t officially over, it’d be quite the uphill climb for the Timberwolves to put up a fight against the 62-win Spurs next round.