The start of the season is right around the corner.
On Thursday, the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with the rest of the NBA, released their full schedule for the 2025-26 regular season. The Wolves are featured on many of the premier dates on the NBA calendar, including the first pair of games broadcast by Amazon Prime on October 24 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Christmas Day against the Denver Nuggets, and an NBA Rivals Week matchup with the Golden State Warriors on January 24.
In total, the Wolves are on national TV 28 times this season, including seven games on ESPN, seven on Amazon Prime, six on NBC, four on ABC, and four on Peacock. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and New York Knicks have more nationally televised games, with each team having 34.
The Timberwolves have seen their share of national TV games increase each of the past two seasons, coinciding with their playoff success and the emergence of Anthony Edwards as one of the best players in the league. Last season, they had the 10th most games on national TV, and the year before that, they were all the way down in 20th with only ten total games on the national stage.
The Wolves playing on Christmas Day for the second straight season is especially notable, as it was not that long ago that the idea of the Wolves playing on Christmas would have seemed far-fetched. Now they are set up to be a mainstay on the holiday.
The added national TV games do come with one main downside for Wolves fans in the central and eastern time zones. The Timberwolves play 17 games that begin at 8:30 PM CT or later, including two that start at 10:00 PM CT out on the West Coast. Six of those late-night games take place at Target Center.
In terms of travel, the Wolves’ schedule looks somewhat favorable. The Wolves rank tenth in total miles traveled throughout the season, down from second last season and third the year before that. It is their lowest miles traveled ranking in an 82-game NBA season since 2018-19.
The Wolves are also tied for the fewest number of back-to-backs, with only 13. Most teams have either 14 or 15, with some teams playing as many as 16 of these quick turnaround games. On the flip side, the Wolves also play the fewest number of opponents on the second night of a back-to-back, with only 11 such matchups.
In total, the Wolves have the rest advantage in 10 of their games, while having the rest disadvantage in 12 games. While being at a rest disadvantage an extra two times is not ideal, it is a welcome trade-off compared to other teams who have to travel more and play more back-to-backs.
With strength of opponent, each Western Conference team’s schedule is going to be fairly balanced, as no team gains a significant advantage from who they play.
At what point in the season you play a certain team can make a big difference. For the Wolves, October through December projects to be the easiest part of their schedule, with the difficulty peaking in January, with both the strength of opponent and travel hitting the team hardest right after New Year’s.
With the schedule finally released, Wolves fans can finally start to see the light at the end of the offseason tunnel. The doldrums of August will be over soon enough, and in a little over a month, before training camp starts and the long journey that is the NBA will begin.
Until then, we wait until Wednesday, October 22, when the Timberwolves open their season on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers.