Going up against Victor Wembanyama was always going to be a tall task for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wemby is a generational defender who doesn't just erase shots at the rim; he changes opposing teams' thought process. For a Wolves squad that excels at attacking the rim and is down one of their best 3-point shooters in Donte DiVincenzo, finding a way to have success against Wemby was always going to be challenging.
While the Wolves are down 3-2, it's worth noting that one of their wins came when Wembanyama was ejected in Game 4. As much as I'd like to say otherwise, it seems all but certain that the San Antonio Spurs will win this series. Frankly, the Wolves' offense hasn't been able to find any sort of flow whenever Wemby is on the court, and I don't see that changing.
Somehow, through five games, Wembanyama has more blocks (22) than the Wolves have made field goals (19) when he contests their shots. Wemby has quite literally wrecked the Wolves' entire offense, and that's not something they can overcome.
DPOY FOR A REASON 👽
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 13, 2026
Over the course of the entire series, Victor Wembanyama has more blocks (22) than the Minnesota Timberwolves have made field goals (19) when he contests their shot 🤯 pic.twitter.com/16xyekuOGH
Maybe the Wolves could have a monster shooting night in Game 6 and force a Game 7, but the chances of winning two games straight against the Spurs are slim to none.
Wembanyama and the Spurs are exposing the Timberwolves' roster flaws
To me, this series is highlighting that you need a nearly perfect roster to beat the Spurs. You need elite shooting to negate Wemby's rim protection. Furthermore, you need a plethora of dependable ball handlers and perimeter creators to limit the Spurs' stifling ball pressure.
On defense, you need a frontcourt size to limit Wemby. At the same time, you also need stellar perimeter defense to stop the Spurs' formidable backcourt. The Wolves check some but not all of these boxes, with the lack of high-end ball handling and shot creation outside of Anthony Edwards being the most glaring flaws.
Almost all of this can be tied back to Wemby, though. The shooting piece is straightforward enough, and while the Spurs have a ton of tenacious perimeter defenders, this playstyle is made possible in part due to Wembanyama's greatness.
It's been suggested that the Wolves need to utilize more five-out looks against Wemby. While that makes sense, the Wolves' shooting (33.3 percent from deep range) hasn't been enough to truly make this strategy work. Having two starters (Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert) who can't consistently knock down 3-pointers certainly hurts.
Sometimes it takes losing to a great player to reevaluate your roster and make some changes. With Wemby not even close to his peak, the Wolves must find a way to make their roster better suited to match up against him and the Spurs. Likewise, the Oklahoma City Thunder pose similar challenges for the Wolves.
Re-shuffling the deck will be tricky for the Wolves, but Tim Connelly is one of the best executives in the business.
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