Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Date: December 19th, 2025
Time: 8:30 PM CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: Prime Video
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
This Is the One: Wolves vs. Thunder and the Night Minnesota Finds Out Who It Really Is
The game that’s been looming over the Timberwolves’ December schedule is finally here.
Oklahoma City rolls into Target Center Friday night, and with them comes everything the Wolves have been trying to outrun for the first two months of the season: last May’s Western Conference Finals loss, the constant questions about legitimacy, and the nagging sense that Minnesota is still hovering in that uncomfortable space between “very good” and “actually dangerous.”
These have been two wildly different seasons so far. The Thunder are operating on another plane — dominant, ruthless, and seemingly immune to bad nights. They’ve lost just twice all year and have spent most of the season treating the rest of the league like warm-ups. Minnesota, meanwhile, has been… complicated. Admirable at times. Maddening at others. Capable of brilliance, yet prone to face-plants that leave everyone staring at the floor wondering how a team this talented keeps stepping on the same rake.
And yet the Wolves are 17–10 and sitting just two games out of the three seed in the Western Conference. Despite the meltdowns. Despite the cold shooting nights. Despite blowing games against Phoenix and Sacramento that should have been banked weeks ago. Despite long stretches without Anthony Edwards thanks to a hamstring injury early and now lingering foot soreness.
The standings say Minnesota is still right there.
The eye test? That’s where things get uncomfortable.
Why This Game Actually Matters
This isn’t just about revenge, though let’s not pretend that doesn’t factor in. Last May, OKC ended Minnesota’s season and sent them home one round short of the Finals for the second straight year. This is the Wolves’ second crack at them, and the first one was telling: Minnesota hung around, fought back, made it interesting… and still couldn’t close.
Sound familiar?
What makes tonight different is what’s riding on it. This isn’t a “nice measuring stick” game. This is a reputation game. A standings game. An identity game.
Earlier this week, Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe ran through their list of Western Conference contenders — Oklahoma City, Denver, Houston, even San Antonio — and the Timberwolves never came up. Not once. For a team coming off back-to-back Conference Finals appearances, that omission stings. But it also isn’t baseless.
Minnesota’s resume has holes. They’re winless against OKC, Denver, and the Lakers. They’ve lost both games to Phoenix. Their signature win to date? A fun road victory at Golden State against a Warriors team missing Draymond Green that’s firmly in the middle tier of the West.
That’s not the profile of a team you pencil into the Finals.
If the Wolves want to change that narrative, not just for fans, but for the league, this is the night to do it. This is the kind of win that forces people to stop talking about “potential” and start talking about “problems.”
The Stakes Beneath the Stakes
Zoom out, and the picture gets clearer. Minnesota doesn’t need to catch OKC to have a great season. That ship has probably sailed. But they do need to avoid that four- or five-seed slog that puts them on the Thunder’s side of the bracket in April.
Home-court advantage is still in play. The two and three seeds are still reachable. But that window only stays open if the Wolves start stacking wins against real teams, not just beating up on undermanned opponents and hoping the math works itself out later.
This roster isn’t changing drastically in February. There’s no cavalry coming. If the Wolves are going to make another deep run, it’s going to be with the guys currently in uniform. Which means December isn’t about surviving. It’s about defining who they are.
And there’s no better test than OKC.
Keys to the Game
1. The Wolves Have to Shoot Like They Belong Here
This is the blunt truth: Minnesota cannot beat Oklahoma City if they shoot the way they did against Memphis or Phoenix.
The Wolves have now had multiple games recently where open threes simply didn’t fall. Some misses were forced, some misses were clean, but all were costly. Against OKC’s pressure defense, cold shooting becomes contagious. Misses turn into hesitation. Hesitation turns into late-clock desperation.
They don’t need to torch the nets. But they do need to be competent. Average from deep is the baseline. Anything worse, and the Thunder’s defense will squeeze the life out of this game by halftime.
That means Edwards and Randle using their gravity to create clean looks, not bailing out the defense with forced shots. It means McDaniels, DiVincenzo, and Naz Reid being ready, not thinking, when the ball finds them.
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Can’t Be Allowed to Dictate Everything
You don’t stop SGA. You might be able to contain him.
That starts by making his life harder before he even crosses half court. Traps, early pressure, making him give the ball up and forcing Oklahoma City’s secondary creators to beat you. And above all: don’t foul. The Wolves cannot afford to put him on the line all night chasing contact.
This is where Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Clark earn their paychecks. Disciplined, physical, relentless defense, without reaching. Without biting at his fakes and flops. Without letting SGA turn this into a free-throw parade.
If SGA controls the tempo, the Wolves are done. If he’s forced to work for everything, Minnesota has a chance.
3. Lean Into Rudy’s Efficiency
Rudy Gobert has quietly been excellent lately. Not just defensively, but as a finisher. His points are clean points. Lobs, putbacks, dunks — the kind that don’t require rhythm or spacing perfection.
Against OKC’s aggressive defense, those easy points matter. Feeding Rudy early forces help. Help opens kick-outs. Kick-outs create the very threes Minnesota needs to hit.
If Rudy disappears, on the glass or in the scoring column, the Wolves will spend all night trying to solve OKC’s defense with jump shots alone. That’s not a winning formula.
4. Julius and Jaden Have to Be Versions We Trust
This is the Julius Randle swing game.
When he’s decisive, physical, and willing to pass, Minnesota’s offense hums. When he dribbles the air out of the ball and forces the issue, OKC’s swarming attack eats him alive. Randle struggled against the Thunder in the playoffs and again earlier this season. This is a chance to flip that script.
Jaden McDaniels is just as critical. He cannot disappear offensively. Standing in the corner waiting for a kick-out is not enough. He has to attack, cut, pressure the rim, and make OKC defend everyone.
Aggressive Jaden changes everything. Passive Jaden shrinks the floor.
5. If Ant Plays, He Has to Be That Guy
Anthony Edwards’ foot soreness clouds everything. If he plays, it’s fair to wonder how explosive he’ll be. But if he’s on the floor, Minnesota needs him to tilt the game.
This is one of those nights. The kind where stars announce themselves. Where “really good” becomes “top five.” Where you don’t match SGA bucket for bucket, but you bend the defense, draw bodies, and make everyone else better.
If Ant is limited, the Wolves’ margin for error evaporates. If he’s close to full strength, this becomes a defining opportunity.
Bonus Key: Hit Your Free Throws
This shouldn’t need saying, and yet here we are.
The Wolves threw away their first shot at OKC from the charity stripe. That can’t happen again. No excuses. No explanations. Make the freebies.
The Moment of Truth
The Timberwolves are at a crossroads.
They’re not broken. They’re not hopeless. But they’re also not playing like contenders. They’re living in the NBA’s most dangerous neighborhood: good enough to matter, flawed enough to fail.
This is the kind of game that clarifies things fast. Win it, and the conversation changes. Lose it, and the questions get louder.
This game isn’t about revenge alone. It’s about credibility. About urgency. About whether this group can summon the edge they had last spring, not for a week, not for a series, but for a season.
The Wolves wanted to be judged as contenders.
Here’s the test.
Let’s see if they pass.