Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards. Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Timberwolves achieve feat not accomplished by Minnesota-based team since 1981

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 15, 2025 8:27 AM ET

The golden age of the Minnesota Timberwolves is officially here.

When Anthony Edwards and Co. defeated the Lakers in the first round, it marked the first time in franchise history that the Timberwolves won a playoff series in consecutive years. Even the Kevin Garnett-led Timberwolves never won a postseason series in back-to-back years, losing in the first round for seven straight seasons (1997-2003) before making their lone Western Conference Finals trip in 2004.

The Edwards-led iteration of the Timberwolves is rewriting history. By dislodging the Warriors on Wednesday, they celebrated another franchise-first: back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances. As a result, the Timberwolves are the first Minnesota-based franchise since the NHL's North Stars in 1980 and 1981 to be among the final four teams in the playoffs for two consecutive years.

The Timberwolves are the first Minnesota-based MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL team to be among the final 4 teams remaining in the playoffs 2 years in a row since the North Stars did so in 1980 & 1981. pic.twitter.com/WI9A0aPO9y
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 15, 2025

The road to relevancy has been long and arduous for the T-Wolves. They missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons (2005-2017), the third-longest postseason drought in NBA history, before the Jimmy Butler-led version of the team ended the cold spell in 2018. However, they endured another three-year playoff drought until Edwards brought them back to relevancy in 2022. Since then, the Timberwolves have made gradual strides into the powerhouse they've become.

Can the Timberwolves make the next step and win it all?

Warriors star Draymond Green believes they can.

"I think they got a real shot at it," Green said. "When you have two dynamic scorers [in Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle] and they got all the pieces — Naz [Reid] coming off the bench, Jaden McDaniels is a hell of a young player, Rudy [Gobert] four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mike Conley and his experience, Donte [DiVincenzo] flying around and defending and shooting. They got pieces. They got a real team."

If the Timberwolves hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, they'll become the first Minnesota-based team since the Lynx in 2017 to capture a title. Among the "Big 4" sporting leagues — NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB — the last team to hang a banner was the Minnesota Twins when they won the 1991 World Series.

"I think they got a real shot at it." ️

Draymond gives props to Minnesota and isn't writing them out of any series. pic.twitter.com/P37GVgL82v
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 15, 2025

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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