Timberwolves Turn a Vow Into a Statement, But Say the Job’s Not Finished

It didn’t look like a sure thing for much of the 2024-25 season. The Timberwolves slogged through injuries, stretches of inconsistency, and a loaded Western Conference that left them fighting for their playoff lives well into April.

But on the final day of the regular season, they vaulted into the No. 6 seed — and haven’t looked back since.

Now, after dispatching LeBron James and the Lakers in round one, and sending the injured Stephen Curry and the Warriors home in five games on Wednesday night, Minnesota is exactly where Edwards said they’d be: one of the last four teams standing.

Coach Chris Finch didn’t let his group forget the sting of last year, or what it would take to show they belonged back on this stage.

“The challenge we laid down to our guys from day one was quite simple,” Finch said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It was one question: ‘Were you a Western Conference Finals team, or were you a team that just happened to make the Western Conference Finals?’ And there’s only one way to prove that: Go out and do it again.”

So far, mission accomplished. Barely.

The Wolves didn’t coast into this postseason with the swagger of a favorite. They gritted and clawed their way back into the conversation. And while their confidence never wavered, their circumstances forced them to recalibrate. They entered the playoffs as a dark horse. Now, they look more like a problem.

Still, don’t mistake progress for celebration.

“There’s no satisfaction,” Edwards said after Wednesday’s win, per McMenamin.

He’s not alone in that thinking.

Donte DiVincenzo echoed the chip-on-the-shoulder mindset that’s defined the Wolves’ playoff run.

“Nobody expected us to beat the Lakers, no one expected us to beat the Warriors,” DiVincenzo said. “So our expectation going in was just stick together and we know that no one is going to pick us, and we’re fine with that.”

And now, it might be on to the Thunder, should Oklahoma City finish off Denver. If that matchup materializes, Minnesota will walk into the Western Conference Finals as heavy underdogs against a 68-win juggernaut.

But if this season has taught us anything, it’s that Minnesota doesn’t mind being overlooked. In fact, the Timberwolves might even prefer it.

Back in the conference finals? Yes. Just passing through? Not a chance.