Amid Trade Buzz, Wolves Will Try to End Absurd Losing Streak in Toronto

It's NBA Trade Deadline Eve, and the pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo is dominating discussion around the Minnesota Timberwolves. Beloved veteran point guard Mike Conley was traded in a salary dump on Tuesday, which sets the stage for some sort of addition from Tim Connelly before Thursday's 2 p.m. central time deadline.

But amid all the trade buzz and speculation, the Wolves have a basketball game to play on Wednesday evening in Toronto. It's a big one in the context of their season, as they're looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss on Monday in Memphis. It's also an opportunity for the franchise to snap a truly absurd losing streak in this specific city. If you haven't heard, the Timberwolves have lost 20 consecutive games in Toronto, where they last won in January 2004.

The streak began with a December 2004 game in which second-year forward Chris Bosh out-dueled reigning MVP Kevin Garnett in a 96-90 Raptors win. Most recently, it was RJ Barrett and Chris Boucher leading the way for Toronto as they held off Anthony Edwards and company in November 2024. 18 other Minnesota defeats lie in between those two. The Wolves do have one road win over Toronto during the stretch, but it came in Tampa in February 2021, when Raptors home games were moved for COVID reasons.

The 20-game streak includes Timberwolves losses by as many as 23 points (in 2022) and as few as 3 points (twice, including the very first game of their incredible 2023-24 season). 10 different Minnesota head coaches have lost in Toronto during this streak, from Flip Saunders to Chris Finch. Even with the Wolves being very bad for most of the last two decades, the streak defies logic.

Nov 4, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic (14) defends against Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Timberwolves 105-86. | Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images

Wednesday provides the latest opportunity for the Wolves — who visit Toronto once per season — to snap the streak. It's basically considered a toss-up game. The Timberwolves (31-20) are 2.5-point betting favorites over the Raptors (30-21). The Wolves are 14-12 on the road this season, while the Raptors are 14-11 at home. Minnesota is 7th in net rating to Toronto's 15th.

The loss of Conley could be addition by subtraction, given how poorly he's played this season. But it'll be interesting to see if the rest of the Wolves' roster can tune out the trade noise and turn up the effort and intensity level in a big game against an Eastern Conference playoff team. Jaden McDaniels, whose name is at the center of Antetokounmpo rumors, is coming off an outstanding 29-point performance on Monday. He's made 28 of his last 48 three-point attempts.

There are a couple injury situations worth watching for Minnesota. Edwards (left elbow soreness) and Julius Randle (left thumb soreness) are both listed as questionable. The Raptors, who have won five of their last seven, have been playing small without starting center Jakob Poeltl. It's a 6:30 p.m. CT game on FanDuel Sports Network North and NBA League Pass.

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