For the second season in a row, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been eliminated in the Western Conference Finals, this time at the hands of the top-seed and 68-win team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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The Timberwolves fell to the Thunder in five games, and overall, it was not a pretty series for Minnesota. They feel they are on the better team and will now conduct some digging and soul-searching this offseason.
Minnesota is a younger and energetic team that made yet another surprising run ot the NBA's finals four. After clinching the No. 6 seed, many thought they would suffer a first-round exit; however, they made an improbable run to the conference finals, led by their superstar guard, Anthony Edwards.
Edwards was stellar all season long and reached new heights in the playoffs; however, it was not enough to take down the Thunder. The former Georgia product spoke to the media after the game and made a bold prediction following the loss.
He told the media that he promises to make strides this offseason.
"I'm going to work my butt off this summer," Edwards said on Wednesday. "Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer. I'll tell you that much."
Edwards' comments came after the Thunder's 26-year-old superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, led his team to the Finals and won the Western Conference Finals MVP award.
Edwards, 23, put up poor numbers in the conference finals compared to the other two rounds, averaging 23.0 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 0.4 steals while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from three in 37.4 minutes of action.
In the elimination game on Wednesday, Edwards recorded 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and one block in 39 minutes of action. Three times, Edwards failed to score over 20 points in the series.
While Edwards is upset by the loss, he admitted that the Thunder deserve to be representing the West in the finals this season.
"They were the better team. They came out and beat us, punched us in the face," Edwards said, "and we lost the game, we lost the series."
The Timberwolves finished the season with a 49-33 record.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM.