A little over 15 months ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were outclassed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 Western Conference Finals. Minnesota was disposed of in just five games, including losses by 26, 15, and 30 points.
The Thunder went on to win the 2025 NBA Finals. The second apron gets everyone, though, and OKC made cost-cutting moves this offseason to get under it. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves look rather different from the team that lost to Oklahoma City in the playoffs.
Most assume that the Thunder will still be a top-two team in the West, and that certainly has a strong possibility of occurring. They do seem a bit more vulnerable, though, and if the Timberwolves can approach their ceiling, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to prove to be the better team in the upcoming season.
Thunder’s depth has been weakened
In the 2025 series between the Thunder and Timberwolves, Luguentz Dort started all five games and averaged 30.4 minutes. Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins combined to play 95 minutes against Minnesota.
All three were traded this offseason, with the Thunder receiving only second-round picks in return. The moves were made to ensure that OKC would get under the second apron.
The advantage that the Thunder had over every team over the past couple of years was the immense depth they possessed. They had a roster of 12 or 13 players who could be counted on, so they rarely missed a beat, even when they weren’t at full strength.
Now they will need one or more of their young players to click, whether that’s Bennett Stiritz, Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, or Aday Mara. Alex Caruso will turn 33 years old in February. Cason Wallace will likely take Dort’s place in the starting lineup, which, in turn, weakens the bench.
Now, it can be argued that the Thunder still have a better bench than the Wolves. Minnesota truly needs Terrence Shannon Jr. to click to give them a second consistent reserve scorer alongside Ayo Dosunmu. Sure, Joan Beringer’s immense potential is obvious, but it remains to be seen whether he can handle a full-time role at the young age of 20.
Ball made the Charlotte Hornets’ offense perform among the league’s best when he was in the lineup. The team still has some great defenders, led by Gobert and McDaniels. If the Timberwolves can mostly remain healthy—particularly Ball—it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Wolves back in the Western Conference Finals instead of OKC.
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