The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the midst of their most successful stretch in team history. They have won five playoff series over the last three years after winning just two in their first 34 seasons of existence.
After many seasons during their history in which they didn’t even come close to competing for a playoff spot, Minnesota’s recent run as an above-average club extends beyond just the past three years.
As long as they finish over .500 in 2026-27, they will tie a team record for most consecutive seasons with a winning record
Wolves looking to have winning record for sixth straight year
Starting with Anthony Edwards’ second year in the league, in 2021–22, the Timberwolves have finished with an above-.500 record. That year, they won 46 games, and they went on to win 42, 56, 49, and 49 games over the following four seasons.
That means in 2026–27, Minnesota will have the opportunity to finish above .500 for the sixth straight year. Something would have to go terribly wrong for that not to occur. DraftKings Sportsbook currently has its over/under win total at 48.5. They would need to go under by 7.5 wins to finish at .500, and thus not have a winning overall mark.
Doing so would tie the current Wolves with the Minnesota squads from 1999–00 through 2004–05. Led by the great Kevin Garnett, those six teams won anywhere between 44 and 57 games on the year.
If you look back at the previous two seasons, you’ll notice that they didn’t finish with a losing record in either one. In 1998–99—a lockout-shortened season—the Timberwolves went 25–25 after going 45–37 in 1997–98. So, with just one more win in 1998-99, Minnesota would have had an eight-year run of winning teams.
Those eight consecutive seasons of finishing at least .500 were preceded by the first eight years of Minnesota’s existence. In each of those seasons, they had a losing record. It took them until their eighth season to even win at least 30 games. They also went the next 12 years after 2004–05 with under-.500 records.
So this is really just the second stretch ever in their 37 years of existence where the Timberwolves have been perennial playoff contenders.
With both Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball just 25 years old at the start of next season, there seems to be a great opportunity for this stretch of winning basketball to continue for some time.
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