It seems like just yesterday the Minnesota Timberwolves were walking off the floor at the conclusion of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, heartbroken to have come that close to the franchise's first ever NBA Finals appearance but still fall short. That was a defining moment in Timberwolves history, and now the next chapter is about to be written.
Nearly the entire offseason has passed, and Minnesota is gearing up to run it back with most of the group that won 56 games last season. Fans are without a doubt ecstatic to see Anthony Edwards and the rest of the crew take the floor once again, and they will not have to wait long.
As we know, the Timberwolves will be taking part in the NBA's highly-exclusive opening night, where they will travel to Los Angeles for a season-opening contest with the Lakers. But before the regular season begins, there are numerous important preseason dates that fans will want to keep up with.
Preseason game schedule
Of course, the preseason slate of games will be coming up in short order. This is when Timberwolves fans can tune in to watch their team play against real NBA competition and get in a rhythm before the regular season begins.
Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
Friday, October 4 | at Los Angeles Lakers | 9:30 PM CT |
Friday, October 11 | vs Philadelphia 76ers | 6:00 PM CT |
Sunday, October 13 | at New York Knicks | 5:00 PM CT |
Wednesday, October 16 | at Chicago Bulls | 7:00 PM CT |
Friday, October 18 | vs Denver Nuggets | 7:00 PM CT |
Minnesota will get a practice round against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena before their regular season opener against them 18 days later. They will then travel to Iowa to host the Sixers at the Iowa Wolves' home arena. The Wolves will conclude preseason with repeat matchups from last year's preseason at New York and Chicago, before hosting their lone preseason game at Target Center against Denver.
Media day
The Timberwolves will conduct their 2024-25 media day on September 30. This is the date that 28 NBA teams will host their media day, with the two exceptions being the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, who are set to travel overseas for preseason action. September 30 is also the day that every player from those 28 teams can report to their teams (and not earlier than 11:00 AM local time).
Training camp
With the exception of the Nuggets and Celtics for the aforementioned reasons, all other NBA teams will open up training camp on October 1. For those 28 teams, this will be the first day following media day. The Timberwolves' training camp will be hosted right in Minneapolis at The Courts at Mayo Clinic Square, and will continue through October 4, when the first preseason game tips off.
Final roster cuts
All throughout the preseason, Chris Finch and the rest of the coaching staff will be tinkering with the roster, trying to figure out which pieces will fit best further down the bench for this team. They will of course decide which players they want to keep and which they want to cut loose before the regular season begins, but all roster decisions must be made by October 21. At 4 PM local time on that day, the roster will officially be set for opening night.