With a gentleman's sweep of the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves return to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. However, as excited as fans were, many did not approve of the team using Anthony Edwards to mock Stephen Curry in celebration.
After the Game 5 victory, the Timberwolves posted a video of Edwards and Curry using the latter's “night night” celebration while teammates on Team USA. Minnesota's social media team captioned the post “night night” with a screenshot of the Game 5 final score.
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Even Timberwolves fans did not appreciate the gesture, given Curry played just 13 minutes in the series. Many felt that the post was more of a low blow than harmless fun, seeing it more as an unsportsmanlike move of kicking a man while he is down.
“Congratulations, you beat Draymond Green,” one fan commented on X, formerly Twitter.
“Admin, I love you, but… we can't be doing the ‘night night' like that when Curry wasn't even playing,” a fan wrote on Instagram.
“Lol posting this especially when Steph didn't play?” another Instagram commenter reacted. “Good win, but stay humble.”
In addition to Curry's injury, the Warriors also dealt with a shorthanded Jimmy Butler. During Game 5, it was revealed that Butler played at least the final two games of the series with a serious illness.
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Timberwolves await Thunder-Nuggets winner
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) jogs
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Despite entering the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves have gone 8-2 through their first two series. Minnesota returns to the Conference Finals, where it fell to the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
The Timberwolves await the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. The No. 1-seeded Thunder lead the No. 4-seeded Nuggets 3-2 entering Game 6, which is set to tip off on Thursday night. Oklahoma City has a chance to close out the series on their home court, where they went 32-8 in the regular season.
If the Nuggets can pull off the comeback, they will set up a rematch with the Timberwolves, who took them out in the second round of the 2024 playoffs. History is not on their side, but Denver has a knack for coming out on top of close games during the 2025 postseason.
Whoever they face, the Timberwolves have all the momentum on their side to attempt to make their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Their 2024 Western Conference Finals appearance was their first trip since Kevin Garnett led them to an organizational record 68-win season in 2004.