How much does playoff experience really matter?

We hear all the time about playoff experience and how it is important for a young team like the Minnesota Timberwolves. Let’s take a look at how much it really matters

Intangibles are used often by fans, broadcasters, and even players in the NBA. A lot of them are disguised as clichés.

Having the “heart of a lion” means that a certain player is able to overcome adversity throughout the season or even in the middle of a game. Having “ice in your veins” means you have no problem being the one to take, and normally make, the last second shot at the end of games. Another often used cliché is having a “killer instinct” when a player knows when the game is in the balance and takes over. Players like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are some of the most frequently mentioned in the “killer instinct” discussion.

One that has become much more prevalent this off-season for Minnesota Timberwolves fans is playoff experience. It is something everybody wants, yet it gives you no physical advantage on the floor. You can’t jump higher, shoot better, or run faster with playoff experience.

Cue the additions of Jimmy Butler (38 games in playoffs), Jeff Teague (66), Taj Gibson (61), and Jamal Crawford (69). If playoff experience is worth its weight in gold, the Timberwolves just broke the scale.

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Adding on Cole Aldrich’s 11 games in the postseason and you have a grand total of 245 games of postseason experience. Fun fact: according to basketball-reference.com, the four main Timberwolves additions have more playoff games under their belt then the projected Philadelphia 76ers starting five PLAYED in last year. The projected starting lineup of Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Joel Embiid, and Dario Saric played in 190 games last season.

Moving back to the Western Conference, it seems like every team in the playoff picture got better. Houston added Chris Paul to play alongside James Harden. Denver brought in Paul Millsap to work with this talented, but young, core. Oklahoma City traded for another superstar in Paul George to help out the MVP. Of course, you know about the Wolves moves. Even non-contenders made moves. The Lakers brought in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to work with the young guys highlighted by rookie Lonzo Ball and former Blue Devil Brandon Ingram.

Not only do those players bring loads of talent to their squads, they also bring playoff experience. CP3 brings 76 playoff battles from his time in both New Orleans and Los Angeles. Paul George packed his 65 games with him on his trip to OKC including many tough battles against LeBron James. With the most out of these three, Millsap has 87 games of experience with stints in Atlanta and Utah.

Even though there is a lot of experience changing teams this year, that does not mean it will automatically be successful. In order to figure out the importance of playoff experience, we need to take a look back at teams who became champions and check their rosters for those playoff veterans.

Let’s start out with the gold standard of NBA franchises: the San Antonio Spurs. Many people know them as a dynasty, but there was a time that they were more known as a bridesmaid. Although they made the playoffs in 18 of the first 22 years of their existence, they had yet to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Their first championship came in the 1998-99 season. The year before, San Antonio lost in the west semis. Between that season and the start of their championship campaign, they added four key players. Three of them brought more than 250 games of playoff experience and 5 rings combined.
The most noteworthy addition, at the time, was former Chicago Bulls point guard Steve Kerr. He helped bring Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen earn three consecutive championships. The current coach of the Golden State Warriors was not just a bench player on those teams either. The clip below is a perfect example of that.

He won Michael Jordan his fifth title. Not much more needs to be said. He was an underrated player and made big plays. That sounds like a San Antonio Spur to me.

The three best playoff seasons of Kerr’s career, up to that point, came during the three-peat. Kerr brought 95 playoffs games and three rings worth of experience to the Spurs.

Another key addition to San Antonio was Mario Elie. The two-time NBA champion from with Houston came to the Spurs bringing 91 games of playoff experience and the aforementioned two rings. As with Kerr, Elie was not just an end of the bench guy. He averaged 8.6 points and 2.2 assists per game in the eight previous years of making the playoffs. Did I mention that they were eight consecutive years?

Last, but definitely not least, of their big free agency additions was Jerome Kersey. Bringing the most games in the playoffs with 110, but no rings, it was almost like Kersey expected to make the postseason every year. That is because he did make the playoffs every year of his career, except for the 1995-96 season.

Of course, having the big man combo of David Robinson and Tim Duncan helps a lot. If there is one thing that people who watch the NBA understand, it’s that young teams rarely win big. San Antonio was very smart to look at their roster and realize they needed a guy or 3 who have been there and done that.

Looking at a more recent example, the Golden State Warriors did the same thing. Again, I know they have players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, but they also had very good veterans to show them the ropes. Players like Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were huge pieces when the Warriors beat the Cavs in 2015.

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With the Timberwolves adding such important pieces as Butler, Gibson, Crawford, and Teague, there are no more excuses. This young team just grew years older overnight. The time to start taking this league over is now. With the mixture of young talent and guy who have been there and done that, this team is bound for great things. Lets, as fans, just sit back and watch the fireworks.