It has been a common occurrence over the last three and a half decades for the Minnesota Timberwolves to be a forgotten team in the NBA. Playing in a small market and not always putting a winning team on the floor, the league and its broadcast partners have frequently tossed the Wolves to the side as an afterthought to focus on larger market teams.
But in recent times, the energy has shifted, and Minnesota is now home to one of the top Western Conference contenders. With Anthony Edwards turning into a full-fledged superstar right in front of our eyes, it has given the national NBA media no choice but to show the Timberwolves more respect.
We can see increased recognition for Minnesota the more we listen to national pundits and hear the way the Wolves are discussed with respect to the other top teams in the association. By and large, they are getting their due honor. But Timberwolves fans will get even more joy out of the latest news regarding this subject.
Minnesota is being considered for big time national TV games
According to connected NBA insider Marc Stein, Anthony Edwards' greatness is still driving Minnesota into an even greater national spotlight (subscription required). Stein reports, "Rumblings were already circulating in Vegas that the Timberwolves are under strong consideration to play both on Opening Night — in the Western Conference game that follows Boston's TBA ring-night season opener on TNT on Oct. 22 — as well as on Christmas Day."
This is massive news for a fanbase that has been begging for their team to get their due respect. As Stein points out, the Timberwolves have only been featured on the Christmas Day slate twice in their history, and a selection to this year's rundown of games would be a tremendous honor.
The word of consideration for an opening night game is perhaps even more exciting given the exclusivity of the event. Of course, the defending champion Celtics will play in the first (east coast) time slot, and then perhaps we could see Minnesota in the prime time slot.
Being selected to play on either of these two days would be a momentous occasion for the Timberwolves. Perhaps an opening night rematch with the Western Conference champion Mavericks could be in the cards.