Minnesota Timberwolves Open as Huge Underdogs…?

The Minnesota Timberwolves came into the season with sizable expectations, after they reached the Western Conference Finals just one year ago. But it took some time, immediately following the Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle swap, for the new-look Wolves to gel.

As the season wore on, however, head coach Chris Finch and his team began to find their stride. Since Julius Randle returned from injury, they’ve been playing championship level basketball.

Despite entering the playoffs as the 6-seed, Minnesota easily dispatched the 3-seed Los Angeles Lakers in five games. They they did the same to an Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors. And just like that, the Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves in the Western Conference Finals for the second-straight season.

Thunder open as significant favorites against Minnesota Timberwolves

While the Wolves were run off the court by the Dallas Mavericks in their first appearance, this is a much different team than last year’s squad. After dominating their first two series, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said they should be the favorites to win it all.

Well, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets in game seven of their West semifinals series on Sunday, meaning we get Ant vs Shai to go to the NBA Finals. And the early odds, do not give the Minnesota Timberwolves much of a shot at beating the No. 1 seed Thunder. In fact, OKC is -375 favorites.

A -375 line suggests an outcome predictability at 78.95%. That means the Timberwolves enter the Western Conference Finals with a predicted winning percentage of just over 20%. If that number is shocking to you, you’re probably not alone.

Yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the NBA’s best team all season long. Yes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and the rest of Mark Daigneault’s rotation is incredibly talented. They’re also a young group who’s never been there before, coming in after a hard-fought seveg games vs Denver.

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Minnesota has been resting since wrapping up their series with the Warriors on Wednesday at Target Center. By the time the West Finals start on Tuesday, the Wolves will have had five days of rest.

The Timberwolves probably need to steal a game or two early in the series if they hope to turn the betting markets. They have won their first road game in each of their last two series. They will try to continue that trend Tuesday.

These aren’t the same Timberwolves

Minnesota and Oklahoma City split the season series. Only once did Julius Randle play, and it happened during their first matchup. He was just 32 games into his Timberwolves career at that point, and the team had yet to find a rotation that worked.

The last time these two teams played each other on February 24, the Timberwolves were just 32-27, and a much different team than they are now.

For the first time in NBA history, there will be 7 different champions in 7 years.

— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) May 18, 2025

This NBA playoffs has provided plenty of intrigue and even more exciting games. It’s going to give us a new champion for the seventh-straight season. This is one of the best opportunities Minnesota has had to end the title drought that has plagued the power-four sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL) for decades.

Fans would love to see the Vikings win it all given the popularity of the NFL. A Twins World Series parade to go along with those from 1987 and 1991 would be unreal. A first Stanley Cup for the State of Hockey needs to happen.

There may be no better way to send Glen Taylor packing, usher Kevin Garnett back in, and cement Anthony Edwards as the face of the league then advancing to and winning the NBA Finals.