Thunder vs. Timberwolves: Who wins the West? Series keys, schedule and prediction for high-stakes showdown
The Western Conference’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The two franchises have not met in the playoffs since 1998, when the Thunder were still in Seattle, performing as the SuperSonics.
What we know about Oklahoma City
The Thunder were incredible throughout the regular season, becoming the seventh team ever to win 68 games and registering the second-best net rating (12.8) in league history. They were equally impressive in the first round of this year’s playoffs, outscoring the Memphis Grizzlies by a total of 78 points in a sweep.
OKC struggled against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, needing a seventh game to escape the series. This is understandable, since the Nuggets are a former champion led by Nikola Jokić, the world’s best player. It is also somewhat troubling, because Denver’s rotation was as beleaguered as we have seen in this injury-plagued postseason, and the Thunder often looked the part of the NBA’s youngest roster.
They are led by 26-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s likely MVP. He averaged a league-leading 32.7 points (on 52/38/90 shooting splits) during the regular season, adding 6.4 assists, 5 rebounds and 2.7 combined steals and blocks in 34.2 minutes per game. He was every bit as impressive against Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander is supported by Jalen Williams, who made his first All-Star Game this season. The 24-year-old added a 22-5-5 on 48/37/80 splits in the regular season. He was, for the most part, less effective against Denver, emboldening questions about his preparedness as a second option on a title contender.
Williams did show up for Game 7 against Denver, as did Chet Holmgren, who might have made an All-Star team had he not lost three months to a fractured hip. Holmgren unlocks all types of lineup combinations with his ability to space the floor offensively and protect the rim defensively. He can man the center spot in a five-out setting or serve as a second big alongside Isaiah Hartenstein. Either grouping can be deadly.
Beyond their young Big Three is a collection of talented two-way players, including Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, among others. Their No. 1-rated defense — in the regular season and these playoffs, both by a wide margin — stifles opponents in relentless waves of aggression, and they rely on Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive creativity, flanked by shooting all over the floor, to carry them home.
What we know about Minnesota
The Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference finals for a second straight season, only they look different than they did last year. They began the season by trading former No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. It was seen as a cost-cutting move that could make Minnesota worse in the short-term, and it looked to be headed that way at season’s start.
They were 22-21 on Jan. 20, owners of a middling offense. Their defense, anchored by four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, was still in the top 10, but the post-trade offense was a work in progress, as Randle navigated his place in the pecking order. Progress became production in the final three months of the regular season, as Minnesota posted a top-five offense, scoring 119.6 points per 100 possessions.
The Wolves have carried that momentum into the playoffs, defeating both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors in five games. The Lakers lacked depth beyond LeBron James and Luka Dončić, and the Warriors were largely without Stephen Curry, but Minnesota did what it was supposed to do.
They are led by 23-year-old Anthony Edwards, an absolutely electric athlete. He averaged 27.6 points (45/40/84), 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 combined steals and blocks in 36.3 minutes a game in the regular season, making a third straight All-Star team. He has been as good, if not better, in the playoffs.
It is Randle, though, who has been the postseason revelation. Once a detriment to anything New York tried to do in the