In their season opener, the Minnesota Timberwolves took home a hard fought win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-108. After being severely outplayed through one half of play, the Thunder roared back in the third quarter before Minnesota ultimately put them away.
Rudy Gobert dazzled in his Timberwolves debut with 23 points and 16 rebounds. He shot 67% from the field and looked as confident as he’s ever been in helping lead Minnesota to a gritty opening night victory.
While it wasn’t the prettiest win, Timberwolves fans have to be happy with how their team came together and overcame nerves to take down an inferior opponent. It would’ve been easy to let the pressure of playing together for the first time in the regular season overcome them, but the Wolves persevered in an impressive way.
With their Wednesday night win, Minnesota continued an impressive streak of dominance: they won their seventh straight home opener. It’s currently the longest streak in the NBA.
the longest active streak in the league.
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 20, 2022
there’s no place like home 🫶
(h/t @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/AzVSKs5o5F
The Timberwolves faithful makes playing at home easier
When thinking of the strongest home-court advantages in the NBA, most basketball fans would think of championship-caliber teams like the Golden State Warriors. But the Minnesota Timberwolves have just as much of a claim to a big home-court advantage as anyone else, and it’s evidenced by their record in home openers.
This streak of seven home opener wins in a row began back on November 1, 2016, when Minnesota took down the Memphis Grizzlies at the Target Center, 116-80. When the Timberwolves begin a season, you can trust the Minnesota faithful to show up and show out.
Home opener wins for Minnesota:
November 1, 2016: W, 116-80 vs. Grizzlies
October 20, 2017: W, 100-97 vs. Jazz
October 19, 2018: W, 131-123 vs. Cavaliers
October 27, 2019: W, 116-109 vs. Heat
December 23, 2020: W, 111-101 vs. Pistons
October 20, 2021: W, 124-106 vs. Rockets
October 19, 2022: W, 115-108 vs. Thunder
In the 2021-22 season, the Timberwolves finished the season 46-36. Of those 46 wins, 26 came in the friendly confines of Target Center. Only 10 teams last season finished with more total home wins than Minnesota.
The Timberwolves’ ability to draw and channel energy from their home crowd this season will be big in their quest for the most successful regular season possible. If they can continue to create a big advantage for themselves when playing at home, they’ll be an even more dangerous and intimidating threat in the Western Conference.
Showing out in front of the home fans won’t just create an increasingly great atmosphere for the fans, but it will give the Timberwolves an extra boost as they look to rise to the top of the standings.