The Minnesota Timberwolves have their eyes set on winning an NBA championship, and they proved it with their moves this offseason. With the addition of LaMelo Ball and a roster full of talented players at or under the age of 26, the Timberwolves are hoping it will lead to them standing on a stage where Adam Silver hands them the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
After back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals followed by a trip to the semifinals last season, it’s a reasonable expectation. But establishing chemistry is an even bigger priority if the Timberwolves want to make that happen.
Anthony Edwards admitted this during an interview with ESPN’s Rob Andrew Dongiapon over the weekend. While he told Dongiapon that he believes the Wolves can compete with Western Conference powers like the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, he also said that he believes that building cohesiveness on the court is necessary to achieve their ultimate goal of winning a title.
“It would mean a lot [to win a championship],” Edwards said during a weekend tour in Manila. “But right now I don’t think we’re thinking about winning a championship. It’s step by step. We got LaMelo, a new player, and a bunch of new pieces. So we are just trying to build it together and I think we’re trying to gel it all together.”
Chemistry is the missing ingredient in Timberwolves’ championship pursuit
The optics of pushing aside winning a championship for team chemistry is concerning at first glance. But Edwards is right in that it might be a solid first step to get the Wolves where they want to go.
Team chemistry was a glaring issue last season, and some would say things looked clunky until the Wolves drew a pair of advantageous matchups against an aging Los Angeles Lakers team and a beat-up Golden State Warriors team during the 2025 playoffs. After preaching continuity, Minnesota was due for a shakeup when Naz Reid cited “moodiness” with last year’s team, but it takes time to gain that chemistry.
LaMelo Ball is an exciting addition after a trade with the Charlotte Hornets, but realizing he doesn’t have to generate offense by himself and become a facilitator may take an adjustment. There’s also a period of time that teammates have needed to adjust to Rudy Gobert and playing with a smaller player at the power forward position after using 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns and 6-foot-9, 250-pound Julius Randle in recent seasons.
Tapping into “The secret of basketball,” which focuses on one way for the Wolves to be a better team this year, and their offseason moves suggest they've already made strides to put it into action.
The Timberwolves’ chemistry experiment could turn good vibes into a fast start
Edwards and Ball helped organize a team trip to Paris this summer, and nearly the entire roster made the trip overseas to participate. Gobert’s media team documented the trip, and it made the vibes appear immaculate as they went sightseeing, enjoyed the city, and – most importantly – got to work on the basketball court.
Establishing that chemistry when the season begins could also be easier thanks to their schedule. While they open the year with four of their first seven games against playoff teams and games against the Miami Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Golden State Warriors, they also have a franchise-record eight-game homestand with 13 of their first 20 games at Target Center.
A fast start could put those championship plans into overdrive. But it won’t happen if the Wolves have the communication breakdowns that they had one year ago. With that, it makes sense that Edwards would see establishing chemistry as a necessary step, and it could be the first one that brings a title home.
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