Is this me huffing some premium copium now that the 2024-2025 Minnesota Timberwolves season is over? Who’s to say. But something is making me turn the clock back like it’s 2010 and I’m writing a Bleacher Report style piece to help soothe the burns of that ugly season ending loss.
Behold:
10 Reassuring Facts After Game Five
2025 NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves v Oklahoma City Thunder - Game Five Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
1 — Wolves Didn’t Lose by 42 Points
Our deep database indicates that there’s never been a “People’s Champ” team that lost by 42 points in a loss during the postseason. That means the Oklahoma City Thunder can hold up the fake “championship” trophy in a few weeks, but they will never be approved by the people.
Biggest asterisk ever.
2 — Minnesota Wins the “Ethical Basketball” Narrative
Who cares about actual playoff wins or championships when all everyone is going to remember is who grifted for fouls and intentionally fouled when up three. National (and local) media put a beating on Oklahoma City for their flopping and unethical style of fouling up three instead of letting the Basketball Gods determine their fate. If the fates of Chris Paul, James Harden, and Joel Embiid have shown anything, then there will be justice.
Kentucky v Gonzaga Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
3 — Thunder Are Still a Stolen Team
The team that resides in Oklahoma City is a fake team. Just like the Los Angeles Lakers. Team owner Clay Bennett literally moved like an evil billionaire would and ripped the Seattle SuperSonics out of the state of Washington just to implant them in the Midwest armpit. Every time they win, it’s a reminder that the people of Seattle deserve everything that Oklahoma City is getting.
Meanwhile, the Wolves are an organic team that not only fought to stay in Minnesota, but also have new owners who plan to keep them here. Ethics wins again!
New York Knicks v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
4 — New York Didn’t “Win the Trade”
The New York Knicks are about to lose to a far inferior team in the Eastern Conference Finals. So even though pundits will try to criticize Julius Randle’s poor performances in the last two games, the truth is that the Wolves made just as far, but are way less pot committed and have more flexibility moving forward than New York. Chess, not checkers.
2025 NBA Western Conference Finals - Oklahoma City Thunder v Minnesota Timberwolves - Game Three Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
5 — Julius Randle Proves He Can Be Effective
Let’s just pretend for a second that Randle wasn’t one of the main reason the Wolves rolled through the first two rounds of the postseason. After having struggling in game four in the conference finals, he proved all doubters wrong as the best player for Minnesota in game five. He led the team with 24 efficient points, marking the third time in five games that he scored that much or more. If only his teammates showed up!
Okay, maybe it was “garbage time,” but I’m acting as if he didn’t turn it over eight times in the first minute of the game. All the box score is going to show is that Randle was the best player in a sailor suit uniform.
Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 103-96 to win game 5 of a first round NBA playoff basketball game. Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
6 — Wolves Prove How Sorry Their Conference Contenders Are
The Luka Dončić and LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers? The Jimmy Butler Golden State Warriors? If Minnesota rolled these teams, then imagine what would have happened if they played OKC instead?
How about the team that gave the Thunder the most trouble? The Denver Nuggets lost in seven games, but this is a Nuggets team that got swept in the regular season and were also eliminated in the 2024 NBA playoffs by the Wolves. Unless Giannis Antetokounmpo is teaming up with Wictor Wembanyama, the road to the top is still through two teams.
2025 NBA Western Conference Finals - Oklahoma City Thunder v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
7 — TJ Shannon Is the Thunder’s Kryptonite
According to my advanced research, Shannon would’ve scored 40.9 points if he played at least 36 minutes. Clearly, Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch was sandbagging against the Thunder. Otherwise, how else could you explain TJ only playing 22.9 minutes and appearing in only three out of five games? We went easy on them (Don’t get me started on Leonard Miller, who would’ve averaged 51.5 points).
2025 NBA Playoffs - Golden State Warriors v Minnesota Timberwolves
8 — Ant Just Became the 2026 NBA MVP
Just like Wilt Chamberlain who literally made a snap decision to lead the league in assists one season, Anthony Edwards decided to do that with his three-point shooting this season. Like a Dragonball Z Saiyan, the tougher of an opponent he loses to, the stronger he seems to get. With all that said, I completely believe that he’s going to lead the league in scoring, rebounds, and assists next year.
Thanks, OKC. You just ruined it for the rest of the league next season.
2025 NBA Western Conference Finals - Oklahoma City Thunder v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
9 — The Thunder Are a Generational Team
Let’s take a second to be real here. Oklahoma City has piledrived teams all season, including the playoffs. They achieved a ton of all-time feats and set advanced metrics records, so it’s likely this iteration will go down in history as one of the best teams of all-time.
There have been a lot of amazing, championship-level teams that just met their match to all-timers. Stockton-Malone Jazz. Jason Kidd Nets. LeBron Cavaliers. Harden Rockets. The Anthony Edwards Timberwolves just have to avoid the buzzsaw next time.
Toronto Raptors v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
10 — The Wolves “Core” Is Still Years Away From Their Prime
Actually, let’s extend the real-ness a few more minutes (SMUT). When you look at Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid, that’s an average age of 24 years old. They are way ahead of schedule. How many young cores at that age have made two straight conference finals? The answer is zero. All this experience is not only going to slingshot them into a championship in the next five to seven years, but going through it together will likely keep them growing together.
Even if you zoom out, you look at guys like Shannon (24), Jaylen Clark (23), and Rob Dillingham (20). These are three rookies who will soon be complimentary pieces of the rotation to replace the older, creakier vets. They all have had flashes of brilliance. Will they grow with the core, or be packaged as sweetners for a superstar (Not named Kevin Durant)?
They have options.