The Minnesota Timberwolves' 2025-26 season tips off on Wednesday night when they travel to play the Portland Trail Blazers. At face value, this game isn't a big challenge for a Wolves squad with championship aspirations. However, it's worth noting that the two teams split the season series last year.
Perhaps the biggest advantage the Blazers have is Toumani Camara. The $82 million man is one of the league's best on-ball stoppers, and he specifically contained Anthony Edwards better than nearly anyone in the league last season.
Most people are expecting the Wolves to take care of business in this season opener. Nevertheless, the Blazers' defense gives them a strong chance to pull off an upset or at least make things challenging for the Wolves.
Toumani Camara and the Blazers' defense can make life difficult for the Wolves
Camara earned All-Defensive second-team honors last season. The Dayton product guarded Edwards for 74.5 partial possessions, holding him to 35.7 shooting from the field. This is a staggering nine percent below Edwards' season average. It's also worth noting that Edwards has historically struggled on season opener games.
At 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan, Camara has the ideal size and length to contain elite perimeter and wing players. Moreover, Camara is an elite athlete with a ton of lateral quickness. Impressively, per CraftedNBA, Camara ranked in the 94th percentile for matchup difficulty and in the 92nd percentile for versatility.
2 minutes of Toumani Camara clamping the opposing teams best player pic.twitter.com/7k2stZ5EeK
— Blazers Palace (@blazers_palace) August 11, 2025
Overall, few players can limit stars like Camara does, and that gives the Blazers a fighting chance against any team.
The Wolves somewhat lack secondary shot creation outside of Edwards. Julius Randle is the primary candidate to provide star-level production in the event that Edwards struggles. However, they will also lean into Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid more as shot creators. Notably, the Wolves had a record of just 12-13 last season when Edwards shot below 40 percent from the field.
Undoubtedly, Camara's elite defense has the chance to flip Wednesday's game. It's also not like Camara is the Blazers' only good defender. Donovan Clingan was an elite rim protector as a rookie, Deni Avdija is a versatile wing defender, and Jrue Holiday has long been one of the league's best perimeter defenders. Portland posted the fourth-best defensive rating after the All-Star break.
The blend of Camara's stellar on-ball defense and the Blazers' overall defensive excellence gives this matchup significant upset potential. You should never underestimate an opponent, and the Wolves better not make that mistake on Wednesday, especially as the Blazers' defense is well-suited to give Minnesota headaches.