The Timberwolves Making The Conference Finals In Back-To-Back Years For The First Time Ever Is Living Proof That In The NBA, Anything Is Possible

Ellen Schmidt. Getty Images.

There are a lot of tortured fan bases throughout the NBA. Not everyone is blessed with a team that is routinely competitive, makes deep playoff runs every year, or is lucky enough to reach the top of the mountain. Plenty of fans have never experienced seeing their favorite team have any sort of sustained success, and high on that list is of course, Timberwolves fans.

This is a franchise that has been around since the 1989-90 season, and in those previous 35 years, it had only made it out of the first round of the playoffs a total of two (2) times. In fact, they've only made the playoffs a total of 13 times, meaning they've missed the playoffs altogether in 23 of those 36 seasons. 

Now, after knocking out the Warriors in 5 games, we can say something about this team that has never been true at any point in their franchise history.

For the first time ever, the Wolves are going to the Western Conference Finals in back to back seasons

And sure, part of this may be because Steph Curry got hurt, but that's basketball. Shit happens. It in no way takes away from what the Wolves accomplished in this series, and let's not forget the fact that the majority of the talking heads didn't even think the Wolves would beat the Lakers

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and now here they are, just 8 wins away from their first ever title. That's pretty cool for a team and a fanbase that has pretty much been tortured every year of their entire existence. 

It also just goes to show that teams in the NBA are mostly bad by choice. The Wolves are in this position because of smart drafting and good front office work. They wanted to get out of the gutter, so they made the requisite moves to make that happen. Compare that to, say, how the Hornets or Jazz or Pelicans, or Wizards have been run recently. It's similar to what we're seeing with the Pistons. They went from losing 30 games in a row to the playoffs, why? Because of good drafting and smart team building. Any franchise is capable of this, but you have to want to do it. You have to give a shit. You have to be committed to winning. 

For the Wolves, that's exactly what we've seen. Obviously, taking Ant at #1 was a no brainer, but it's more than that. How about trading for Jaden McDaniels on draft night in 2020? How about finding Naz Reid on a two-way contract in 2019 after he went undrafted? Those are two massive pieces of the puzzle that we are now seeing in 2025.

Then, of course, there's the trade aspect of their roster. Going out and bringing in Mike Conley to stabilize the guard spot. Bringing in Nickeil Alexander-Walker via trade and then extending him at a very affordable 2/$9M. Two moves that maybe didn't blow your dick off when they happened, but look at each player now and how important they are to this team.

Most recently, perhaps the most controversial trade of them all, the Randle/DiVincenzo trade for KAT. This was something that when people first saw it, they crushed the Wolves for making this move. As it turns out? That front office knew what they were doing. This isn't a knock on KAT, but rather how they felt the team needed to be adjusted in terms of playstyle and skillset, and you could argue that Julius Randle has been one of the most consistent performers of this entire playoffs. DVV gives them toughness and shooting. In reality, this is actually one of those trades where both sides are happy with how things turned out

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What we're seeing from the Wolves is living proof that any franchise can turn into a contender if they approach things the right way. As you saw at the top of this blog, they've been "cursed" for their entire existence. A joke, a laughingstock, etc. And while you do need luck along the way, that's true of any contender. The point is, the Wolves made the decision to stop being bad, created a plan to get out of the gutter, and stayed committed. When it came time to make hard decisions and tweak the roster, they did. They did not get complacent. 

Basically, if the Wolves can do it, anyone can do it.

While we have no idea how far their 2025 run is going to go or who they'll end up seeing in the WCF, that's not really the point. The overall point is that stuff like this is great for the NBA, just like it is with what we're seeing with the Pistons, Spurs, etc. The more competitive teams the better, and for all the shit that the Wolves got over the summer for their team building approach, they deserve just as much credit now that we've seen how that approach has played out through two rounds.

There's a strong chance that 3 of the 4 teams in the Conference Finals will be teams that have never won a title in their franchise's history (I personally do not count the Sonics' 1979 title for OKC). That rules. The Wolves may very well make their first Finals ever. 

So if you're a fan of one of those other tortured franchises, just know that anything truly is possible. It may not feel that way in the moment, but just ask any Wolves fan how they felt during the 16 years they never even sniffed the playoffs. Ask them if they ever imagined this could now be their reality. No chance they'd say yes.

But that's the beauty of the NBA, where anything truly is possible.