The predictions are out for the first round of the NBA playoffs and – shocker – NOBODY is picking the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here’s why Ant and company are about to make the experts choke on that purple and gold haterade.
Just days before tip-off of the most intriguing first-round matchup in the Western Conference, I find myself in a familiar place: rage-scrolling through NBA Twitter, counting how many so-called experts are picking the Wolves to beat the Lakers (zero), and wondering why, after 36 years of mostly pain, I’m still this emotionally invested in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Wolves Nation, we are so back—in that “no one respects us, everyone’s counting us out, and yet we kinda like it” sort of way. Because once again, as has been tradition since roughly the Clinton administration, we are underdogs. Overlooked. Disregarded like a 2004 flip phone in a Gen Z group chat. And I’ll admit—some of that skepticism is earned. Our playoff resume is thin. But let’s be clear: this ain’t your dad’s Timberwolves. Actually, it probably is your Timberwolves, because let’s be honest, your dad’s been through the same trauma.
This is the Wolves’ fourth straight playoff appearance—something that hasn’t happened since the Garnett era—and yet you’d think we were still running Jonny Flynn out there in crunch time the way people are talking.
Let’s just take a stroll through the national perception here:
- ESPN’s ten playoff “experts”? All ten picked the Lakers.
- FanDuel Sportsbook has the Wolves at +164 to win the series. Translation: Vegas is throwing subtle shade.
- SB Nation ran a poll and 66% of fans picked the Lakers. Which is weird, because I thought the basketball world was tired of LA being the league’s golden child. Guess not. The cult of LeBron + Luka is real.
And that brings me to the most annoying subplot in all of this: the Lakers aren’t just good—they’re Hollywood good. They’ve got storylines. Flash. Star power. LeBron. Luka. And of course, Bronny “Nepo Baby of the Year” James getting cardio in 10 minutes a night while the ESPN broadcast team pretends he’s the second coming of Jrue Holiday.
But here’s the thing no one wants to admit: this is a coin flip series. The Lakers are the 3-seed, yes. But they finished one game ahead of Minnesota. One.
The Wolves and Lakers split the season series. Both teams defended home court. Neither team has seen the other at full strength. We haven’t seen what this current Wolves group—Edwards, Gobert, Randle, and a deep-as-the-ocean bench—looks like against this version of the Lakers. The one with Luka wearing purple and gold, trying to make “Showtime Slovenian” a thing. (Spoiler: it’s not.)
Let’s be real: Luka torched us in last year’s Western Conference Finals. He put on a masterclass in “slow but unstoppable,” like a 6’7” YMCA dad who just happens to shoot 47% off one leg. But that was Dallas. That was Luka with Gafford and Lively throwing down lobs like it was 2K. That was Luka with Kyrie as his irrational confidence flamethrower. This Lakers team? Doesn’t have that same interior punch. Doesn’t have the second offensive dynamo. What they do have is Jackson Hayes, some Vando minutes, and a whole lot of “let’s hope LeBron turns back the clock.”
Let’s talk matchups.
- Size? Wolves win. Gobert + Randle + Naz Reid = a bruising frontline that could legitimately give LA fits. These dudes are big, physical, and mobile. They can punish smaller lineups. Don’t be shocked if we start bullying them in the paint by Game 2.
- Defense? Wolves win again. We’re throwing Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Clark, NAW, and Ant at Luka and Austin Reaves in waves. It’s like that scene in “300” where the Spartans just keep replacing each other at the front line.
- Depth? Advantage: Minnesota. You know how most teams roll out their seventh and eighth guys and you’re like, “Oh yeah, that guy.”? Not us. Our bench includes Naz, Donte DiVincenzo, NAW, Clark, and Terrence Shannon Jr., who plays like he’s still mad he didn’t get invited to the McDonald’s All-American Game. These are rotation guys who can win you a quarter—or a game.
And then there’s Ant. He’s already one of the ten best players in the league. There, I said it. He’s the guy who shows up when the lights are the brightest. He’s been built in a playoff lab. And you can bet your dusty D’Lo jersey he hasn’t forgotten the ejection in Game 4 when the refs decided that clapping too hard was a technical. That was an absolute “NBA Scriptwriters Union” moment. And don’t get me started on the free-throw disparity.
But this is what we do. When the pressure’s on and the expectations are low, the Wolves fight. They claw. They maul. Go back to the Phoenix series last year. Everyone had the Suns sweeping us. Instead, we turned them into ashes. Look at our current regular season outcomes against Denver (4-0!) and the Clippers (3-0). We played the #1 and #2 seeded OKC and Houston to a draw. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with every top team in the West.
This version of the Timberwolves play their best when the world expects the worst. That’s not just a cliché—it’s practically a mission statement. So when ESPN stacks their little prediction graphic with ten Lakers logos, I smile. Because I know what’s coming.
This series? It certainly seven. And if it does, I want it in LA. Just like Mile High last season. I want the Wolves walking into that building with all the pressure on the King, the Prince, and the League’s new Euro-heartthrob. I want Ant silencing the crowd, Jaden blanketing Luka, and Rudy Gobert catching lobs in complete silence because half the crowd left for sushi in the third quarter.
The NBA world can keep sipping that purple-and-gold Kool-Aid. But come Saturday night, the Wolves are showing up with a chip on their shoulder, a roster built for war, and a fanbase ready to howl.
Let the disrespect fuel the fire. Let the haters talk. The Wolves don’t need your predictions.
They just need four wins.