Minnesota Timberwolves Haven't Done Enough to Threaten OKC Thunder

En route to capturing the team's first NBA Championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.

It was a five-game series that featured three blowout wins for the Thunder and a nail-biting victory in Minnesota to punch OKC's ticket to the NBA Finals and end the Timberwolves' run.

Though there was still reason for optimism in the Twin Cities. There is no shame in falling to the best team in the NBA and despite its offense looking completely overwhelmed by the Thunder's defensive unit, it still marked the Timberwolves' second consecutive trip to the Western Conference Finals.

The Summer months typically feature plenty of confidence from contending teams' fan bases. However, in the month of July, the Timberwolves lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker –– insert snarky joke about his relation to Gilgeous-Alexander here –– to the Atlanta Hawks, which represents a big blow to the Wolves' supporting cast.

However, all hope isn't lost. Sure, Alexander-Walker was the perfect role player for Minnesota, given his defensive ability and flourishing as a play-finisher as a catch-and-shoot option in Chris Finch's offense, but the Timberwolves still have options.

Both Terrance Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark showed flashes of more than filling Alexander-Walker's role on both ends of the floor. While it is a lot of responsibility to place on 25-and-24-year-olds, they gained valuable experience during the 2024-25 campaign, which can pay dividends this season.

If you really want to dream, and this would take a shocking performance the likes of which we haven't seen since Elvis' 1968 comeback special, Rob Dillingham would inject new life into Minnesota's guard rotation and light up the scoreboard alongside its stars.

While that seems a bit far-fetched, Anthony Edwards is good enough –– and still improving –– to force his teams into the title conversation every year of his prime. It is undeniable the impact that he has on the floor, even in a lackluster series against Oklahoma City, Edwards continued to make the right play and flash improved playmaking despite his role players clanking shots around him.

The Edwards, Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert core has proven to work in every matchup outside of Oklahoma City. The Thunder made the latter two unplayable at times during their conference finals matchup, but the flaws in their games weren't exposed in the first two rounds. It will be hard for any defense to duplicate the swarming nature of Oklahoma City's unit.

Can Minnesota dethrone Oklahoma City? No. But they might not have to.

The playoffs are largely about matchups, especially for as loaded as the Western Conference is. The eventual conference winner likely won't have to be the best team on the left side of the NBA, but just have the best possible path open up for them.

While Houston and Denver remain better than the Timberwolves on paper, it only takes some seeding shenanigans and an upset or two to envision another deep playoff run for Minnesota.

If a time traveler promised Minnesota would avoid Oklahoma City in the postseason, their future outlook would appear much more appealing. If just one of the teams in an eight-team field can truly give you fits, you must be considered a contender by the league at large.