Minnesota’s biggest challengers in the NBA Northwest division

The Minnesota Timberwolves enter the 2022-23 season in another ultra-competitive Western Conference. Stacked with star power and proven teams, it won’t be a walk-in-the-park task attempting to represent the West in the NBA Finals. But how do the Timberwolves fare in their own division? The NBA Northwest Division may not have been to the NBA Championship series last year, but this certainly is worth monitoring.

While perhaps not considered one of the best NBA divisions, there is plenty to be said for the competitiveness of the NBA Northwest Division. Only three games separated the first-place team (Utah Jazz) from the third-place team (Minnesota Timberwolves). In fact, only the NBA Atlantic Division was as tightly packed in their final standings.

After finishing third amongst the five teams (Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, and Oklahoma City Thunder) last year, the Timberwolves look to snag the Northwest division crown for the first time since 2004. Can they do it?

Well, the winds of change certainly blew at gale-force strength through the Timberwolves roster. In the aftermath, the team had traded five players away and restocked the roster to compliment their Twin Bigs of C Rudy Gobert and PF Karl Anthony Towns.

We’ll analyze how Minnesota matches up with each division foe. Seeing the strengths and weak spots against our rivals should be a fun exercise!