2025 NBA Playoffs Preview: Thunder-Timberwolves Is A Clash Of Young Superstars

The 2025 NBA Playoffs has reached their penultimate stage and four teams will duke it out to see which gets the privilege of representing their conference in the Finals.

Over in the Western Conference, we’ve been blessed with an exciting matchup. On one end, you have the league’s best North American-born basketball player in Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and his now-battle-tested Oklahoma City Thunder. And on the other, you have the tantalizing slasher in Anthony Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves, which boast the best win percentage of any team in the postseason (80 percent, 8-2).

But after a long seven-game series, do the Thunder have enough gas in the tank to deal with another Western Conference powerhouse? Or will the Timberwolves reach their first NBA Finals in franchise history?

The Numbers

Oklahoma City Thunder

Record: 68-14, No. 1 Seed

• Net Rating: first (plus-12.7)
• Offensive Rating: third (119.2)
• Defensive Rating: first (106.6)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Record: 49-33, No. 6 seed

• Net Rating: fourth (plus-5.0)
• Offensive Rating: eighth (115.7)
• Defensive Rating: sixth (110.8)

Which Team Has More Playoff Depth?

On paper, the Thunder are the clear favorite here. They have the better offense and sturdier defense.

But full regular season numbers fail to describe the potency of this Timberwolves team. As many are well aware, Minnesota was involved in a blockbuster trade right before the start of the season. Moving on from their second-best player (Karl-Anthony Towns) took the Timberwolves some time to adjust, but once they found their comfort zone, they became ferocious.

After starting the season 22-20, the Timberwolves finished the year 27-13, boasting the fourth-best net rating in that time (plus-8.1, per NBA.com). They also had the fourth-best point differential in the NBA against top-10 teams (per Cleaning the Glass) — showcasing their knack for rising to the occasion against the best of the best.

Heading into their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, we raved about the Thunder’s depth. In theory, it seemed they had 11 guys they could trust to play serious postseason minutes. But by the time Game 7 came around, head coach Mark Daigneault trusted just eight players. Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Joe were phased out the rotation on Sunday, while Kenrich Williams was never part of the rotation throughout the series.

Eight is still a good number in the playoffs, but even then, Oklahoma City’s rotation has some question marks. Among the eight, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso are the only players over 26, and everyone in that group was up and down at various points against the Nuggets.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have arguably the best eight man rotation left in the playoffs. Edwards, Mike Conley Jr., Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have all demonstrated their readiness for this stage. Plus, they still have two aces in the hole (Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark) to break out in case of emergency.

If this year of basketball has taught us anything, it’s the importance of having real depth — players who can adequately hang on both sides of the ball. Both teams have great top-end talent, but which can trust their ancillary guys more when the rubber meets the road?

The Thunder’s X Factor: Jalen Williams

Through six games against the Nuggets, it seemed Jalen Williams did not have what it takes to be the Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander’s Batman on a championship team. Williams temporarily dispelled those claims with an outstanding Game 7 (24 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 65.5 percent true shooting). But it takes more than one game to win a title.

The Timberwolves’ defense is much fiercer than the flawed Nuggets unit the Thunder narrowly escaped. During four regular season games, Williams’ scoring efficiency fell four percentage points (53.1 percent true shooting) against Minnesota.

Williams grew up a great deal in Game 7, but is it enough to handle Minnesota’s stockpile of feisty perimeter defenders? The Thunder will need him to be ready and help establish better offensive consistency than last round in this matchup.

The Timberwolves’ X Factor: Julius Randle 

Coinciding with the Timberwolves’ midseason surge were Randle’s individual growth and tweaked approach. For the first time since his original ascension in 2019-20, he swapped his blackhole tendencies for smart shots and swift decision-making. Gone were his half-hearted defensive possessions. In their place was a 6-foot-9, 250-pound Battle Ox who used his physical gifts to stonewall opposing teams on drives.

But has Randle completely kicked all his bad habits? If any team is going to bring the old Randle back, it’s the Thunder — one of the greatest defenses of all-time, which specializes in dragging their opponents into the mud.

The Timberwolves desperately need this not to happen. Along with being the team’s second-best scorer, Randle is also their pressure release valve when defenses throw the kitchen sink at Edwards. Randle must maintain and capitalize on the advantages Edwards creates — while also making some of his own — if they wish to pierce the Thunder’s stout defense.

Prediction: Thunder In Six

As has been the case all postseason long, the Thunder are the best team left in the field. They reaffirmed this by overcoming an early deficit in Game 7 to curb stomp Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

The Timberwolves don’t have one of the greatest offensive players ever to push this Thunder defense the way the Nuggets did with Jokic. They’re even more turnover prone (20th in turnover rate) than Denver, which plays right into Oklahoma City’s hands (second in opponent turnover rate).

The Timberwolves are a formidable foe (hence my belief they can take two games in this series). But the Thunder are a whole different beast than the Los Angeles Lakers’ paper maché defense or the depleted Golden State Warriors they vanquished prior to this round.