{"id":354479,"date":"2025-10-20T20:37:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/354479\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T20:37:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:37:30","slug":"minnesota-timberwolves-2025-26-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/354479\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Timberwolves 2025-26 Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wolves Didn\u2019t Come This Far to Only Come This Far<\/p>\n

You can count the truly great Timberwolves seasons on one hand and still have fingers left to point at old scars. 2004\u2019s Big Three run. The Ant-KAT breakthrough that torched Phoenix and toppled Denver. Last spring\u2019s sequel where a disjointed regular season suddenly turned into a sledgehammer April and May. That\u2019s basically it. Which is why 2025\u201326 feels different. Not \u201ccute upstart different.\u201d Not \u201cwin-a-series-and-we\u2019re-happy different.\u201d This is pressure-cooker, banner-or-bust, we\u2019re-on-the-perch-now-jump different.<\/p>\n

Two straight Western Conference Finals gets you a parade of compliments. The third year is when you either break the ceiling or get labeled \u201cthat fun team from the mid-2020s.\u201d The Wolves didn\u2019t crawl out of two decades of purgatory to become a historical footnote. It\u2019s time to finish the trilogy.<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards, Franchise North Star<\/p>\n

Ant\u2019s annual evolution should be taught in AP Bio.
Year 1\u20132: nuclear athlete who could bully his way to 25.
Year 3\u20134: the defense arrived, the reads sharpened, and the shot diet got smarter.
Last year: he put in the lab hours, led the league in threes made, and looked like the best player in multiple playoff games\u2026 while still being 23.<\/p>\n

Now comes the cruelest tier: the best-player-every-night tier. That\u2019s where Jokic lives. That\u2019s where SGA dipped last spring. It\u2019s not just 31-7-6 \u2014 it\u2019s the daily ruthlessness. No random 6-for-18 Tuesdays, no drifting for a quarter while the opponent steals the rope. If the mid-range package he teased all summer is real (and the 3% body fat legend is more than gym-rat folklore), he\u2019s an MVP dark horse and the tip of a Finals spear. Every champion has that guy. The Wolves have theirs.<\/p>\n

Julius Randle, From Awkward Fit to Perfect Co-Star<\/p>\n

Talk about walking into a Minnesota snowstorm in a T-shirt. Randle arrived as the human face of the KAT trade\u2014beloved franchise pillar out, ball-dominant All-NBA forward in\u2014and the PR barometer immediately spun to \u201cblizzard.\u201d Early on, the fit looked clunky. He pounded the air out of a few possessions, stared down double-teams like they\u2019d personally offended him, and carried the extra baggage of contract talk and the \u201cYou\u2019re Not Karl\u201d chorus from a fan base still in mourning. Rough sledding is putting it kindly.<\/p>\n

Then something clicked. Instead of trying to be a one-man bulldozer, Randle started operating like a 250-pound hub.. The ball stoppages turned into ball starts. On a bunch of playoff nights, yes, playoff nights, Randle was Minnesota\u2019s most important player, outshining even the Ant supernova by bending defenses, living at the line, and dictating tempo without hijacking it. He went from \u201cwrong guy, wrong time\u201d to \u201cperfect second banana,\u201d the big who makes your best player\u2019s life easier.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the blueprint now. If Randle keeps the quick decisions, defends his matchup with grown-man pride, and picks his bully-ball spots instead of living in them, the Wolves have a championship-caliber co-pilot. The chemistry with Ant is real, and and the Twin Cities suddenly feels like a place where Julius can write the ring chapter. Last year was the transformation. This year has to be the confirmation.<\/p>\n

Rudy Gobert, The Identity<\/p>\n

Basketball\u2019s most polarizing seven-footer is back to do what he does better than just about anyone on Earth: erase mistakes and make a trip to the paint feel like going through airport security. Say what you want about the trade, but Gobert changed the Wolves\u2019 identity overnight with his size, length, top-shelf defense, and a nightly invitation for opponents to take 18-foot prayers. Heading into Year 4 in Minnesota, the job description hasn\u2019t changed: anchor everything, talk everyone through coverages, and let Ant and Jaden fly knowing there\u2019s a French safety net behind them.<\/p>\n

Yes, there are warts. You don\u2019t throw him the ball 18 feet out and ask him to invent jazz. But when Finch parks Rudy in his sweet spots, deep seals, rim rumbles, vertical spacings, he flips from \u201coffensive limitation\u201d to \u201cefficient cheat code.\u201d Remember Game 5 in L.A. last spring, when he bullied the Lakers\u2019 bigs and led all scorers? That\u2019s the template: screen like a snowplow, dive like a hammer, finish everything with two hands, and live at the line enough to make teams pay for hugging shooters.<\/p>\n

The swing stat is health, specifically, the back. When Rudy\u2019s upright and moving, the Wolves have a puncher\u2019s chance against anyone, anywhere. When he\u2019s stiff or a step late, the margin shrinks in a hurry. Keep him right, keep the role simple, and the math tilts your way: elite defense plus just-enough offense. If Minnesota gets \u201cLakers Game 5 Rudy\u201d from April to June, you can start planning parade routes down First Avenue.<\/p>\n

Jaden McDaniels, The Swing Vote<\/p>\n

We already know: top-tier wing defender, arms for days, mean-mug connoisseur. When he\u2019s on the floor with Rudy and Ant, the geometry changes. Wings stop testing middle, drivers pull up early, and your favorite scorer starts calling for a screen like it\u2019s DoorDash. He\u2019s already one of the best point-of-attack + help hybrids in basketball: rear-view contests, chest-up without fouling (most nights), late-clock erasures on jumpers that looked open a beat ago. That length next to Gobert means Minnesota can live at the rim defensively without sending the fire department every possession.<\/p>\n

The swing factor is the other end. Every few weeks Jaden turns into the version you brag about to your non-Wolves friends: corner threes drop, he rips baseline like a paper cut, and he finishes through arms like they\u2019re pool noodles. Then there are the vanish nights. Some of that\u2019s usage and design. Finch has to put him in position to attack instead of asking him to stand in the corner and manifest, and some of it\u2019s Jaden deciding it\u2019s a \u201chunt the mismatch\u201d evening, not a \u201cghost in the corner\u201d one.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: the floor is nasty, snarling, lanky lockdown guy (which is already worth his contract). The ceiling, the one that nudges this team from \u201ccontender\u201d to \u201cfavorite\u201d, is the nights he adds 14 efficient points, three corner makes, two cuts, and zero \u201cwhy, man?\u201d fouls to all that defense. When Jaden\u2019s cooking, the Wolves feel unsolvable.<\/p>\n

Mike Conley Jr., The Adult in the Room<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s designated adult, the human weighted blanket for fourth quarters. We all feel it. There are only so many tours left on the odometer. Two straight springs ended a couple wins shy of the Finals, and nobody in the room understands that clock louder than Conley. Last season wasn\u2019t peak \u201cUtah Mike\u201d or even \u201cMemphis Mike\u201d; the burst dipped, the minutes needed curating, and the back-to-back plan had more guardrails than a Mario Kart track. And yet every time he checked in, the chaos stopped. The offense organized. Ant got the ball where he wanted it, Rudy got fed on time, and the turnover gremlins got evicted. You could feel the temperature drop: dribble handoff into a pocket pass, angle screen, swing-swing three. Simple, adult basketball.<\/p>\n

This year is about precision over volume. Manage the miles, keep him fresh for the 8:12 p.m. moments in May. He doesn\u2019t need to be 18-and-8; he needs to be right when it matters and present enough from October to April to teach the kids where the buttons are. Give him a sensible minutes plan, a second-unit off-ramp when he sits, and one more crack at the stage he\u2019s earned. If there\u2019s basketball karma, it\u2019s cashing the \u201cGet Mike a ring\u201d ticket.<\/p>\n

Undrafted to Sixth Man to full-blown cult icon, Naz is the rare bench guy who gets his own towels, chants, and at least a few impulsive tattoos across the Upper Midwest. The twist is why it hits so hard: on most rosters, Nazs is a no-brainer starter. On this one, he\u2019s spent years wedged behind All-Star bigs (first KAT\/Rudy, now Julius\/Rudy) blocked by team chemistry and pecking order more than talent. A lot of players in that spot peek over the fence. Naz doubled down on Minnesota, stayed with Ant and Jaden, and said \u201cgive me the smoke\u201d here. Then Tim Connelly backed it up with five years and $125 million as proof the franchise sees what the fanbase has screamed: this guy matters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also been a heavy summer. The life-changing contract landed, and then the gut-punch loss of his sister had grief and gratitude sharing the same calendar. If you\u2019ve watched Naz the past two years, you can already picture the response: show up, lean on teammates, let the game be the outlet. The basketball case remains simple and loud: instant offense, lineup elasticity, a second unit that actually scares people. But the reason he\u2019s become the beating heart of the building is bigger. He chose Minnesota when it would\u2019ve been easier to go somewhere he\u2019d start; he carried the love right back when it would\u2019ve been easier to leave. That\u2019s why the towels fly. That\u2019s why the chants hit different. And that\u2019s why, on a team with title expectations, Naz isn\u2019t just a luxury. He\u2019s the hinge.<\/p>\n

Donte DiVincenzo, The Chaos Valve<\/p>\n

Donte DiVincenzo: the \u201csweetener\u201d who showed up with a blowtorch. When the KAT-for-Julius swap dropped in the middle of the night, many in Wolves Nation felt that DDV would be the reason that Minnesota would be declared the \u201cwinner\u201d of the deal. We all remembered Dallas in 2024 and how the offense seized up in fourth quarters. A certified flamethrower sounded like oxygen. Year 1 was a mixtape: some nights he looked like he\u2019d swallowed the Splash Brothers\u2019 playbook; others he drifted like a cameo. But once the calendar flipped to March\/April, the rhythm locked in: catch-and-shoot confidence, relocation threes, the sneaky back-cut when teams top-locked him. That late surge was a not-so-subtle reminder: on a team that can defend anybody, one 6-for-10 from deep outing changes an entire series.<\/p>\n

The twist this season is responsibility. With no true vet behind Mike Conley, Donte\u2019s the break-glass ballhandler when Minnesota Mike sits. We\u2019ve seen the messy version (hello, OKC traps), but with a full summer and camp to rep the reads, the job description is clear: keep the offense on the rails, punish help with quick-trigger threes, and be the chaos merchant in second units. He doesn\u2019t need to be Chris Paul; he needs to be Donte\u2014screen-reject into a pull-up, 30-foot heat check when the arena gets sleepy, one surprise take-charge on a star driving left. On a roster built to win 94\u201390 rock fights, he\u2019s the volatility lever. If the Wolves finally crack the Finals, don\u2019t be shocked if there\u2019s a night in May where everyone\u2019s writing the same sentence: DiVincenzo swung it.<\/p>\n

Terrence Shannon Jr., The NAW Successor<\/p>\n

NAW earned every shred of love he got here. Now TSJ inherits the slot: bigger minutes, real defensive chores, and the green light when he beats a bent defense. He\u2019s older than your typical second-year guy, which is a feature, not a bug, on a contender. You saw it in the February OKC comeback and in the Western Finals cameo: the moment doesn\u2019t scare him. If he delivers 18 sturdy minutes most nights, the Wolves add a downhill gear they sometimes lacked.<\/p>\n

Rob Dillingham, The Wild Swing<\/p>\n

Minnesota traded up to crown him heir apparent to Mike Conley. The tools are obvious: shake, burst, vision, touch. The reality of Year 1 was predictably bumpy. This year the coaching staff is asking him to be reliable. Steer second units. Survive defensively through strength and guile. There will be jitter nights; the assignment is to make the good nights frequent enough that Finch doesn\u2019t need to velcro Donte to the wheel every second Conley sits. If Rob pops, this team\u2019s ceiling changes zip codes.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Clark, Quiet Killer<\/p>\n

Last year started with towel-waving. Then the defense popped, the minutes grew, and suddenly there were lineups (Clark + McDaniels + Ant + Rudy) that felt like a prison sentence for opposing guards. If he hits 36% on corner threes, he\u2019s a rotation lock who lets Finch toggle into five-alarm perimeter pressure without sacrificing sanity on offense.<\/p>\n

Joan Beringer, The April Insurance Policy<\/p>\n

Call him \u201cBaby Gobert\u201d if you want, but you\u2019ll be underselling the touch. The reads are raw; the instincts around the rim are not. Behind Rudy, Julius, and Naz, the minutes will be selective, and that\u2019s fine. The model here is \u201cLively II in Dallas two springs ago\u201d: two playoff games swing because the rookie gives you 10 honest minutes, 3 contests at the rim, and 2 putbacks when your bigs are gassed or whistled.<\/p>\n

What Has to Change from 2024-25<\/p>\n

No more first-half coasting. Last year\u2019s disjointed start made sense post-trade; this year it doesn\u2019t. Bank wins. Push for the 1-seed.Offensive lulls must shrink. You can\u2019t live in the mud for four straight minutes against OKC or Denver. TSJ\u2019s rim pressure, Donte\u2019s movement threes, and a more cohesive first-unit are the antidotes.Health. It\u2019s boring until it isn\u2019t. Keep Rudy right. Build a responsible schedule for Conley. Give Ant the \u201cyou don\u2019t have to be Superman in December\u201d memo.<\/p>\n

The Bar (And Why It\u2019s Fair)<\/p>\n

Two years ago, the mission was \u201cwin a series.\u201d
Last year, the mission became \u201cprove it wasn\u2019t a fluke.\u201d
This year, the mission is \u201ctake the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is the West loaded? Absolutely. Are there eight landmines in the first round? You bet. But the Wolves built for this: elite defense, a top-five guy ascending, a co-star who finally fits, a cult-god sixth man, switchable wings, and a front office\/ownership group that (imagine typing this five years ago) looks competent and aligned.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a version of this season where Minnesota wins 60, grabs the 1-seed tiebreaker, and finally gets to carry home court into a West Final. There\u2019s also a version where the non-Conley minutes wobble, the offense hiccups, and they wind up fighting uphill from the 5\u20136 line again. The difference lives in October\u2013January habits and the development curve for Dillingham\/Shannon\/Clark.<\/p>\n

But the window is open, and it\u2019s not a drafty crack \u2014 it\u2019s a wide-angle view of June.<\/p>\n

No more arriving. It\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

\"Minnesota<\/a><\/p>\n

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

First 5,000 using the code SBNFALL30 get a free monthNever miss a Timberwolves game. Stream all season long with FanDuel Sports Network<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be here all season at Canis Hoopus \u2014 previews, recaps, overreactions, underreactions, and everything in between. And if you somehow don\u2019t have access to Wolves broadcasts yet, FanDuel Sports Network North still has that 30-day free trial we\u2019ve been pointing to. Use it, sample everything for a month, and then lock in so you don\u2019t miss the climb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wolves Didn\u2019t Come This Far to Only Come This Far You can count the truly great Timberwolves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,307,152,3954,6,308,11376],"class_list":{"0":"post-354479","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","11":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-timberwolves","14":"tag-timberwolves-analysis"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115408420923013842","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}