After one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, there will be much pressure for the Minnesota Timberwolves to live up to expectations in the 2024-25 year. It is certainly hard to follow up a season where you won 56 games and reached the conference finals for just the second time ever.
Now more than ever before in the Anthony Edwards era, there will be a target on the Timberwolves' back. For much of Edwards' tenure with the team, Minnesota was an up-and-coming team without significant expectations. That has now changed in a big way, and teams across the league will be looking to be at the top of their game when the Timberwolves come to town.
As Minnesota gears up for the start of the season in just two months, there is one aspect of their schedule that will present a significant challenge. According to a sports analytics account on X called Positive Residual, the Timberwolves are set to travel the most miles of any team in the association in 2024-25.
Minnesota will travel the most miles of any team this season
A post from the account depicts a map of the United States and shows the flight patterns branching out from Minneapolis, showing how many times Minnesota will travel to each team this season as well as which cities they will be traveling between. To the left of the map is a bar graph showing miles traveled for each NBA team. The Timberwolves rank first with 49,937 miles.
Now, we should remember that there are only 80 games on the schedule right now and two more will be added at the conclusion of NBA Cup group play. That could slightly affect these numbers, but Minnesota will still have one of the most difficult schedules travel-wise regardless of whatever additions are made later on.
Another metric the graphic tracks is rest advantages and disadvantages. According to the data, the Wolves will have 11 instances of coming into a game with more rest than their opponent, as opposed to nine instances of entering a contest with less rest than the opposition.
That is certainly a positive to tack on to this massive travel schedule Minnesota will endure in the coming season. Dealing with additional jet lag and many long flights will not make the Timberwolves' continued pursuit of a championship any easier.