NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) in the third quarter at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Dec. 19, 2025.
MINNEAPOLIS — For the third straight season and fifth time overall, the Minnesota Timberwolves will play in one of the NBA’s five marquee Christmas Day slots. For the first time, the game will be played in Minneapolis.
The Wolves will play host to Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. on Christmas, the NBA announced Tuesday morning.
Minnesota last played the Thunder on Christmas in 2017 in Oklahoma City. It’s a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals, won in five games by the Thunder.
The home game and primetime tip-off is another nod to a franchise with growing popularity league-wide due not only to the team’s success — Minnesota has won five playoff series over the past three seasons — but also its star power.
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The Timberwolves’ offseason trade for LaMelo Ball means Minnesota now boasts two of the league’s most popular young players. Anthony Edwards was sixth in the NBA in jersey sales last season, while Ball was 15th. The Wolves and Philadelphia (LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey) are the only two teams in the league currently sporting two players in last year’s top 15.
The Ball-Edwards combination figures to be must-see television as, potentially, the NBA’s most electric backcourt. Minnesota touted 28 nationally televised contests when the 2025-26 schedule was initially released. When the team’s full schedule is released on Thursday, that number could potentially reach the league limit of 34.
It’s already at two, as Minnesota’s season opener was also revealed Tuesday. The Wolves will travel to Miami to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat on Oct. 21, the second night of the NBA campaign in what will be Antetokounmpo’s official Heat debut and Ball’s first regular-season game in a Wolves jersey.