Where are the Minnesota Timberwolves land in current NBA power rankings?

The Minnesota Timberwolves may have finished with the fourth-worst record in the NBA last season, but they have a roster chock-full of talent.

From a pair of young All-Stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell to last year’s No. 1 overall pick and the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award in Anthony Edwards, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Wolves.

But it also makes Minnesota a tricky team to rank league-wide. Let’s take a look at where two way-too-early power rankings have the Wolves slotted in and decide where head coach Chris Finch’s squad should actually be ranked.

ESPN places Minnesota Timberwolves No. 25 in way-too-early power rankings

ESPN has the Timberwolves ranked shockingly low on their post-Finals power rankings.

The list was compiled by a panel of writers, and somehow, they landed with the conclusion that the Wolves are only better than five other teams.

The Wolves clock in at No. 25, despite a 9-7 record with both Towns and Russell in the lineup and an 8-6 finish to the season despite still missing Malik Beasley down the stretch.

Minnesota ranked ahead of only the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets. Teams that the Wolves were ranked just behind include the Sacramento Kings at No. 24, Chicago Bulls at No. 23, San Antonio Spurs at No. 22, New Orleans Pelicans at No. 21, and the Washington Wizards at No. 20.

It’s fairly indefensible to rank the Kings ahead of the Wolves; even while Sacramento finished eight games ahead of the Wolves in the standings, Minnesota has at least three players superior to the best player on the Kings roster.

Ranking the Wolves below the Bulls and Spurs is puzzling, as well. The Pelicans at least have Zion Williamson and could easily rebound from a disappointing 2020-21 season, and while the Wizards finished below the .500 mark and may be forced to trade Bradley Beal, they at least made the playoffs and have Russell Westbrook.

Further proving the point that ESPN’s ranking was underwhelming is the first 2021-22 power rankings from Greg Swartz at Bleacher Report.

Bleacher Report has Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 18 in first rankings

If ESPN’s power rankings completely under-shot where the Timberwolves should rank, then Bleacher Report’s rankings may overinflate Wolves fans just a bit.

B/R has Minnesota all the way up at No. 18, a whopping seven spots ahead of where ESPN placed the Wolves.

Here’s the reasoning from Swartz, in part:

"The Wolves also posted a net rating of plus-4.9 in the 327 minutes Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell shared together, a good sign the core is working.Towns and Russell are both going into Year 7 and should be more than ready to win. Edwards looked like a seasoned pro over his final 17 games (23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 47.4 percent shooting)."

He also suggests that the Wolves should be in the conversation for the play-in games next year, if not making the playoffs outright.

It’s what yours truly predicted prior to last season, and seems like a completely reasonable goal for next spring as well.

Again, a healthy Towns-Russell-Edwards trio, plus Beasley and promising forward Jaden McDaniels are a playoff-worthy starting five. The questions come are mostly related to relative health, consistent defense, and depth. If the Wolves can make an addition or two this offseason and go into next year healthy, they’ll be positioned for a playoff run.

Still, ranking them ahead of the likes of the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors, as Swartz did in his piece for B/R, feels iffy.

We’ll see what the power rankings all say after Thursday’s NBA Draft. The Wolves, of course, don’t have a pick at all and it would be a surprise to see them trade into the field.