NBA champions often don’t have a clear side of the court where they excel at obviously more than the other. They mostly excel at both. Normally, they finish in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating. That is where the Timberwolves landed on both sides of the floor last season, and it’s why they should be seen as a title contender even with many publications not seeing Minnesota in that light.
Top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating
While the Wolves were the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs last season, they were clearly a dangerous one. For one, they finished just one win behind the third through fifth seeds. Two, throughout the season, they proved to be one of the better teams on both ends of the court.
Minnesota finished eighth with a 115.7 offensive rating and sixth with a 110.8 defensive rating. Those numbers both got better as the season went along as well after the team got off to a middling start.
The Timberwolves were just one of four teams to finish in the top 10 in both. The other three were the Thunder, Cavaliers, and Celtics. Those three just happened to have the three best records in the regular season, and of course, OKC went on to win the championship.
Now it can’t just be assumed that Minnesota will be able to repeat the feat. The Timberwolves' continuity could lead to improved play, though. Yes, they lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Young players such as Terrence Shannon Jr. (offense) and Jaylen Clark (defense) should be able to help the team miss Alexander-Walker less than many believe.
Common theme for NBA championship teams
It is a fairly common theme for a championship team to finish top 10 in offensive rating and defensive rating. The Thunder are coming off a year where they had the best scoring margin in NBA history. They were third in offensive and first in defensive rating.
In 2023-24, the Celtics had the best offensive rating in league history and second-best defensive rating that season.
Prior to last season’s NBA finals, Todd Whitehead of Synergy Basketball looked at the offensive and defensive ratings of the previous 45 NBA championship teams. 34 of those 45 teams were top 10 in both. Make it 35 of the last 46 after the Thunder became the 2025 NBA champs.
Offensive- and defensive-rating ranks for the last 45 NBA champions. pic.twitter.com/EPz4DFr7U1
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) April 18, 2025
Just four teams fell outside the top 10 in defensive rating and seven in offensive. None of them finished outside the top 10 in both. It’s a great quality for a team to be well-rounded, and that quality should make the Timberwolves a team on the short list of championship contenders.