It was a rocky road, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are officially back in the Western Conference Finals for a second consecutive season. What a time it is to be a Wolves fan. The challenges to get to this point were many, but Chris Finch did a fantastic job of organizing this team and motivating them all season long.
On Wednesday, the Timberwolves' coach revealed one question he has repeatedly asked his group that stuck with them: "Were you a Western Conference Finals team, or were you a team that just happened to make the Western Conference Finals?"
It's certainly a provocative question. What Finch was basically saying by asking that was this: Do you think you just lucked into success last year, or do you truly deserve to be in this position? Because if the answer is the latter, then you'd better go out and make it happen again.
It's safe to say they responded accordingly. The Timberwolves had plenty of chances to mess things up in both of their playoff rounds so far. And although they were not without mistakes, their play proved they are indeed deserving of another appearance in the conference finals.
Chris Finch on making it to the WCF again
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) May 15, 2025
"The challenge we laid down to our guys from day 1 was quite simple. 1 question. Were you a WCF team? or Were you a team that just happened to make the WCF? And there's only one way to prove that. Go out and do it again." pic.twitter.com/4PNnmz1VlS
Finch had a provocative question for his team
What Finch did by asking this question was essentially take what's a pretty common sentiment among NBA fans and put it in words that are easier to digest for actual competitors. Was last year a fluke, or was it not? Obviously, no one in Minnesota's locker room believed they lucked into their achievements last season.
Even for the new guys like Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, this had to have still been a motivating question to hear repeatedly in your locker room. You know what kind of work you put in both collectively and as a team to make it this far, and the thought of being considered a phony feels downright disrespectful.
Like Finch said, the only way to silence all the doubters and those who would say the Wolves were a one-hit wonder would be to do it again, and here we are. The most impressive part of the fact that they reached this point again? The entirely different personnel they did it with.
Last year, Minnesota barely scraped by Denver in the semifinals with Karl-Anthony Towns in their starting frontcourt. Now with Randle occupying that spot, dare we say this team looks even better. There's no question about it — The Minnesota Timberwolves are a powerhouse, and they are here to stay.