Why an NBA championship is the Timberwolves' to lose after last season
By Evan Smith
The Minnesota Timberwolves were long viewed as an afterthought for a playoff spot, but that reputation was flipped on its head recently. The 2023-24 season saw the Wolves finish with a 56-26 record, the second-most wins in franchise history. This culminated in a Western Conference Finals berth, leading to new expectations of being perennial contenders.
Going into the 2023-24 NBA campaign, the Wolves were looked at as nothing more than a potential playoff team. This wasn’t without reason. In the 2022-23 season, Minnesota finished with a 42-40 record, resulting in the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Yes, the Wolves may have only finished with a record just above .500, but that year wasn’t without hiccups. Karl-Anthony Towns played just 29 games due to a calf injury, Rudy Gobert struggled in a new system, and D’Angelo Russell was flipped in a midseason trade that brought in Mike Conley.
The 2022-23 season produced growing pains
Every team has its ebbs and flows, but the season was encapsulated in an infamous matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the final day of the regular season, both teams were battling for postseason seeding, and emotions were high.
Late in the first quarter forward Jaden McDaniels was walking back to the locker room when the usually stoic McDaniels lashed out and punched the wall. This resulted in a broken hand which kept him out for the remainder of the season.
You’d think this would be enough heartache for one game, but Gobert and Kyle Anderson made sure that the headlines were about something different. The Wolves were down 12 with four minutes to play in the second when an altercation between Gobert and Anderson broke out. The two were going back and forth before Rudy decided to throw a punch, which caused Gobert to be immediately sent home, as well as asked to spend multiple days away from the team.
Despite the perceived tension in the locker room, the squad proved resilient to the outside noise, forcing their way into the playoffs.