The Minnesota Timberwolves certainly have championship aspirations. When you make back-to-back conference finals and your best player in Anthony Edwards, is just 24 years old, that has to be the end goal.
Many see Minnesota’s main competition in the West as the Thunder, Nuggets, and Rockets. Stephen A. Smith went a different route, saying that the Mavericks will win the NBA championship (with a caveat).
Stephen A. Smith proclaims Mavericks will win it all
On ESPN First Take, Smith had his Stephen’s A-List segment where he named his top 5 NBA players to watch this year. Stephen A. had two Mavericks on there with Anthony Davis coming in at first and Kyrie Irving in fifth.
During the segment, Smith proclaimed that the Mavericks will win the championship, although with a caveat. He stated they would if Davis is at his A-game (which involves not getting hurt) and Irving remains healthy (once he returns).
.@stephenasmith shares his list of top five players to watch this NBA season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/A7EY2sIg33
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 22, 2025
It was back in early March when Irving tore his ACL. Now, that injury will keep the 33-year-old sidelined for a large chunk of next season. Until he does return though, Dallas did a nice job in adding D’Angelo Russell to start in the meantime.
Whether Davis can remain healthy has been a question for much of his career. In his very first game with the Mavs after acquired by them last season, he sustained a left adductor strain. The injury sidelined him for a month and a half.
Still, what a story it would be if Dallas won it all the year after they traded Luka Dončić. They lucked into getting the first overall pick as well in a year where there was a clear top prospect in Cooper Flagg. It would be the ultimate redemption story for Nico Harrison after the amount of hate and disdain he received after the deal.
Timberwolves have better odds to take home the title
It was the 2024 Western Conference finals where the Timberwolves squared up against the Mavericks. While Dallas won in five, that was, of course, when they still rostered Dončić.
According to DraftKings SportsBook, the Mavericks have only the 11th-best odds to win it all at +3000. The Timberwolves have the sixth-best at +1300. Believing that Davis and Irving can remain healthy may not be realistic. There’s a reason why Minnesota has substantially better odds.
While the Mavericks winning it all would be a great story, so would the Timberwolves winning their first championship. It would also give the state of Minnesota their first title since 1991 between their major men's professional sports teams in the Twins, Wild, Vikings, and Timberwolves.