Following a dominating 125-93 Game 7 victory against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are now set to face the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves.
This will be the first Western Conference Finals matchup ever between these two teams.
Thunder's superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not hesitate in praising Minnesota ahead of their showdown.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) during the first quarter at Paycom Center.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives around Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) during the first quarter at Paycom Center.
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
When asked what it means to be the highest seed remaining in these playoffs, the MVP candidate made sure to not knock Minnesota or the Eastern Conference teams still battling.
"Nothing at all," Gilgeous-Alexander emphasized. "We play a really good team in the Timberwolves, and we gotta try to beat them four times before they beat us four times, and that's all I'm worried about, all our team is worried about."
Gilgeous-Alexander has continued to thrive following a historic regular-season showing. Through two playoff series and 11 games this postseason, he is averaging 29 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game on 48/29/85 shooting splits.
Minnesota's own superstar Anthony Edwards has averaged 26.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists a game on 45/39/74 shooting splits in 10 games played this playoffs.
The Timberwolves have faced the Thunder four times already this season and split the regular-season series 2-2, with the last matchup resulting in a 25-point Minnesota overtime comeback.
Game 1 of this series will tip off on Tuesday, May 20 in Oklahoma City at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The Thunder have opened as 7.5-point favorites to win Tuesday's series opener and are a heavy favorite (-375) to win the series as a whole over Minnesota, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.