6 Most Interesting Games on the Timberwolves' 2026-27 Schedule

On Thursday, the NBA released its full 2026-27 regular season schedule, and if you can believe it, the Minnesota Timberwolves will again play 82 games. The Wolves' season begins on Oct. 21 in South Beach against the Miami Heat and wraps up at home versus the Houston Rockets on April 11.

The Timberwolves ended up with 27 national TV games, which is surprisingly one fewer than their total last season, with 11 airing on ESPN or ABC, 10 on NBC/Peacock, and six on Amazon Prime. The Wolves rank eighth in total games airing nationally.

Let's take a look at the top six games Timberwolves fans should be looking forward to this regular season.

6. Nov. 25 vs Grizzlies

This game quietly has the chance to be one of the most fun games of the season as the Timberwolves take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 25, the day after Thanksgiving. While the opponent may not stand out, the date of the game will likely foster an incredibly rambunctious Target Center crowd.

The atmosphere at Timberwolves games has grown with the team over the past few seasons, but gets an added level of noise and hype when out-of-town college kids and young people come back to visit family.

After a Thursday spent watching NFL football and eating turkey, the Friday night matchup against the Grizzlies is set to be possibly the best crowd of the season.

This one is also an NBA Cup game, which gives an added level of importance to the matchup and means the game will very likely be played on a uniquely colored floor. Hopefully this year's court isn't lime green like the past two seasons.

5. Opening Night at Heat

The first game of the season often tends to have some added significance, even if it is just one out of 82. This year is no different as the Timberwolves take on Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and the Heat down in Miami.

It will be Antetokounmpo's regular-season debut with his new team and serve as an immediate test of the Timberwolves' lack of size at the power forward position. The Antetokounmpo-Adebayo frontcourt is possibly the largest in the league and presents major problems for an undersized Wolves team.

On the other hand, the Heat have an equally big question mark as to who will guard both LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. The same will likely be an offensive affair as both teams try to figure out their new-look rosters to begin the season.

4. New Year's Eve vs Nuggets

One weird quirk of modern NBA schedules is that a few times during the season, two teams will play each other in two consecutive games. The Wolves do so four times during the 2026-27 season, most notably against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 28 and 31.

The first game of the playoff rematch will take place in Denver, while the second one on New Year's Eve will occur at Target Center, making it one of the more unique games on the Wolves' schedule. Games against the Nuggets, both in the regular season and playoffs, often seem to fly off the rails, and this one is set up to do the same.

Last year, the Wolves closed out 2025 with a horrendous blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They'll look to avoid a similar fate on the final day of 2026 against a Nuggets team that is surely hoping to get revenge.

3. Feb. 18 vs Spurs

The Wolves' final game before the All-Star Break is another playoff rematch as they take on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 18.

The last game or two before the break can often get weird as the team looks forward to getting some time off. It can lead to some great performances, like last year when the Wolves beat the Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers by more than 20 points. It can also lead to players mentally taking a night off.

With the Spurs coming to town, Minnesota will almost certainly need to put together a great performance to get a win against one of the co-favorites to win the championship.

2. Christmas Day vs Thunder

For the first time in Timberwolves franchise history, Minnesota will host a Christmas Day game at Target Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder come to town for a primetime matchup that begins at 7:00 p.m. CT.

This is now the third consecutive season the Timberwolves are playing on Christmas. Last season, they lost to the Denver Nuggets after an Edwards three-pointer sent the game to overtime. The year before that, the Wolves defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a game that ended up being Luka Dončić's final game with the Mavs.

In total, this will be the Wolves' fifth Christmas Day game. They are currently 2-2 all-time when playing on Dec. 25.

The date of the game isn't the only reason this game projects to be one of the best on the Timberwolves' calendar. It also comes against the other championship co-favorite, who always foster a great environment when they arrive at Target Center.

It will be an early-season measuring stick game for the Wolves to measure whether or not they have closed the gap between them and the top of the Western Conference and the team that eliminated the Wolves in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.

1. Jan. 29 vs Hornets

On Jan. 29, the prodigal son returns. Naz Reid makes his Target Center debut in a Charlotte Hornets uniform. It is sure to be a bittersweet night in Downtown Minneapolis as Reid reached folk hero levels of beloved during his time in Minnesota.

From the beach towels to the tattoos to a sign outside a pizza parlor begging cars to show their love, basketball fans across the Twin Cities fell in love with the player that the Wolves signed undrafted out of LSU in 2019 and turned into a Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

While fans have found the appropriate balance between the sadness of Reid leaving and the appreciation for Ball's arrival, Reid's return to Target Center won't leave many dry eyes at the end of the night.

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