When it comes to the upcoming season, there are plenty of reasons the Minnesota Timberwolves are considered by many to be among the top contending squads in the association. They boast one of the most balanced rosters in the NBA, with a healthy crop of both veterans and young talent.
But the truth is that there is not one team in the Western Conference that can be considered head and shoulders above the rest. There are far too many great teams that will be vying for a top-four seed, and the smallest of margins could end up determining who beats out their competition for favorable playoff seeds.
Minnesota, like the rest of the teams out West, will be relying on clutch performances from key players to help them win close games all season and ideally win tiebreakers over their in-conference foes that finish close to them in the standings. Of course, the play of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and the team's top contributors will be important.
But according to a respected NBA Analyst, there is a Timberwolves role player that could end up making nearly as much of a difference in Minnesota's season: Mike Conley. RealGM's Wes Goldberg recently wrote about how Minnesota Mike is one of eight NBA role players that could end up swinging the title race in the league this season.
Mike Conley could make or break the Timberwolves' season
Goldberg's reasoning is simple. The Timberwolves started to truly turn a corner in this era when they replaced their former starting point guard, D'Angelo Russell, with Mike Conley. He brought instant chemistry with Rudy Gobert as his former teammate, and Conley served to essentially be Minnesota's missing piece.
The grizzled veteran will be entering his 18th season in the association this season. Mike's contributions to this point have been tremendous, but the question of how long he can keep up his level of production is a reasonable one. In 2023-24, Conley started 76 games and put up 11.4 points along with 5.9 assists per game, operating as the ideal playmaker for Anthony Edwards and others.
As Goldberg points out, Mike is set to turn 37 years old before the start of the upcoming season, and a decline in production could be on the way before long. But thankfully, Conley is in a position where his inevitable regression should be minimized.
It is absolutely within the realm of possibility that Mike Conley's season performance could end up making or breaking the Timberwolves' entire year. Should he come out with his hair on fire and put up an old man season for the ages, it would be massive for Minnesota's title hopes.