Bizarre scheduling anomaly will be massive for Timberwolves' season

Those who live near Target Center can now begin planning their trips to see the Minnesota Timberwolves compete in the coming season. With the official release of the NBA schedule on Thursday, all 82 games along with their dates and times are now public information.

We already know that the Timberwolves are going to have a difficult schedule playing in a stacked Western Conference, and certain stretches of games will be tougher than others. But one particular sequence of competition stands out above the rest as particularly unique and challenging.

The Oklahoma City Thunder earned the top seed in the West last season, overtaking the Nuggets and Timberwolves on the final weekend of the regular season. The final edition of the standings literally came down to Game 82 of the 2023-24 season, and we have little reason to believe that will change next year.

Minnesota plays Oklahoma City three times in four games

So of course, that makes Minnesota's games against Oklahoma City that much more important in 2024-25. Well, the Wolves will certainly have February 13 through February 24 blocked off on their calendar, because they will take on the Thunder three times in that stretch, over a span of four total games.

It is hard to imagine these two teams going at it three times in four games. It is likely to feel almost like a playoff series, with Minnesota hosting OKC on February 13 and 23, before turning around to go against them on the road the very next day.

Tuesday, December 31 is the only other day outside of this stretch where these two teams will compete next season. This is already a budding rivalry between two of the best players in our league in Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and we can rest assured that whoever comes away with more head-to-head victories in this season series will have a major leg up on earning a higher playoff seed.