By blowing out Denver on Sunday in the lone Game 7 of the NBA postseason’s second round, Oklahoma City set up a showdown of Northwest rivals in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
The Timberwolves went just 49-33 during the regular season, which was the 10th-best record in the league and was barely enough to earn a guaranteed playoff spot in the West — Minnesota moved into the conference’s No. 6 seed on the last day of the season. But the Wolves have looked more dangerous in the postseason than their regular season record would suggest, winning 10 of 12 games against star-studded Lakers and Warriors teams in the first two rounds.
Skeptics will argue that the Lakers were still adjusting to a midseason revamping of their roster and that the Warriors would’ve been a far more formidable opponent if Stephen Curry hadn’t strained his hamstring in Game 1 of the second round. Still, the Wolves beat the teams in front of them and looked good doing it — their 114.6 postseason offensive rating ranks fifth among 16 playoff teams, while their 106.8 defensive rating is second-best.
Anthony Edwards has proven to be an effective postseason closer, averaging 26.5 points per game in the first two rounds, while Julius Randle (23.9 PPG, 5.9 APG) has played some of his best basketball of the season in the playoffs.
Rudy Gobert wasn’t part of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation this year, but he has shown against L.A. and Golden State that he still deserves to be considered one of the league’s best rim protectors and defensive anchors. And the Wolves are getting necessary contributions from the rest of their eight-man rotation too, including Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Still, Minnesota will enter the Western Finals as a significant underdog against the 68-14 Thunder. Despite the fact that it took Oklahoma City seven games to finish off Denver in round two, oddsmakers and bettors love the club’s chances of advancing to the NBA Finals — BetOnline.ag currently OKC listed as a -355 favorite.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way for Oklahoma City and has found his rhythm this spring following an up-and-down start to the postseason. After making just 18-of-68 shots from the field (26.5%) in his first three games against Memphis, Gilgeous-Alexander has put up 30.8 points per contest on 53.1% shooting in his last eight outings.
Jalen Williams (19.6 PPG on .440/.254/.750 shooting) hasn’t been as effective in the playoffs as he was in the regular season, but the Thunder’s depth has more than made up for it. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, and Isaiah Joe have all appeared in each of OKC’s 11 playoff contests and are averaging between 5.3 and 15.7 points per game.
The defense that ranked No. 1 in the NBA during the regular season hasn’t let up in the postseason either. The Thunder had the best first-round defensive rating (97.6) out of 16 teams and ranked first among eight clubs in the second round with a 103.9 mark. And even though it took seven games to get past Denver, Oklahoma City had the best second-round net rating (+9.9) of any team, outscoring the Nuggets by 64 points in the series.
Even though the Thunder finished 19 games ahead of the Timberwolves in the regular season standings and will have home-court advantage, this series could be a very competitive one. The two teams split their four regular season matchups this season, with one of those games going into overtime and two more decided by single digits. And the Timberwolves probably hold the slight edge in postseason experience, having been in the Western Finals last spring too.
We want to know what you think. Who will win this series and represent the Western Conference in the 2025 NBA Finals? Are you counting on the Thunder to come through or do you think the Wolves will pull off the upset? How many games do you figure it’ll take?
Vote in our poll and head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!