Currently, 10 of the 30 teams have yet to win an NBA championship. Some of those teams have come awfully close to winning one, such as the Pacers, who forced a Game 7 in last season’s NBA Finals.
The Timberwolves are still looking for their first title. They have reached the conference finals each of the last two years, but never the NBA Finals in franchise history. Neil Paine of ESPN believes they are the second-most likely of the 10 ringless squads to win one by 2031.
Chances of winning a ring by 2031
On Thursday, Paine posted an article where he ranked the ringless NBA teams by their chances to win their first title by 2031. A model was built to project each team’s chances of winning it all over the next six seasons.
According to the model, the Timberwolves have a 20.5% chance of being able to hang their first championship banner by 2031. Each team’s average roster age and 2025-26 title odds are listed in the article with Minnesota’s being 29.0 (22nd-youngest) and +1600 (according to ESPN Bet) respectively.
The team that is above them? That would be the Magic who are given a 24.0% chance of a championship by 2031. They have the youngest average roster age at 25.6, and they also play in the currently easier conference.
The next eight teams in order are the Clippers (15.5%), Pacers (13.1%), Grizzlies (6.9%), Suns (5.3%), Pelicans (4.6%), Nets (4.4%), Hornets (2.9%), and Jazz (2.9%).
Anthony Edwards helps Minnesota remain a top team as others age out
The Magic do have youth on their side. Their two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, are just a combined 46 years old.
The thing is, we haven’t seen this duo win a playoff series, and the franchise as a whole hasn’t won one since 2010. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have won four total in the last two years, resulting in back-to-back conference finals appearances.
The roster may be a bit older, but their best player in Anthony Edwards, is just 24 years old. They have a potential replacement in a few years for Rudy Gobert, in 2025 first-round pick, Joan Beringer. Julius Randle is now in his 30s, but Naz Reid is more than four years younger than him and easily could be a starting four or five for most teams. Players may age out, but as long as the Wolves retool well alongside Edwards, they should remain one of the better teams in the league.
Whether you think Orlando or Minnesota has a better chance of winning it all over the next 6 seasons is a matter of opinion. The Timberwolves would love to be the reason where Paine’s list next year is down to 9 teams.