Just tuning in to the Timberwolves? Here’s how this team came together

After dispatching the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers featuring LeBron James and Luka Doncic in five games, the Timberwolves got their revenge against Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors — with Steph Curry missing the final 4½ games — in five games.

Now for the first time, the Wolves are heading to the Western Conference finals in back-to-back seasons. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

Awaiting the Wolves are the Oklahoma City Thunder, widely considered the favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the playoffs. While the story lines are aplenty, as this series could be one of the best of the postseason, here’s a chance for casual fans to get to know this Wolves team searching for the first NBA title in franchise history.

With one of the oddest coaching journeys in the league, Finch has become one of the best coaches in the NBA.

After getting his start in England with the Sheffield Sharks in 1997 one year after suiting up for the team, he bounced around Europe with coaching stops in Germany and Belgium before moving across the Atlantic to coach the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League in 2009. After stops at Houston, Denver, New Orleans and Toronto, Finch took over as head man with Minnesota midway through the 2020-21 season. He led the Wolves to the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, finishing as a finalist for the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year.

Record: 209-160 | .566 winning percentage

Fun facts: He was high school teammates with former NFL quarterback Kerry Collins. His mom danced with the Radio City Rockettes before he was born.

Edwards has been more than advertised and everything Minnesota hoped to get when it drafted him No. 1 overall in 2020. Just 23 and in his fifth season in the NBA, he’s approaching superstardom with a unique blend of athleticism, IQ, shooting prowess and defensive intensity.

While he has said multiple times that he has no plans to become the face of the NBA, it might not be up to him anymore. In two seasons, Edwards and the Wolves have dispatched Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, James, Doncic, Butler, Green and Curry.

2024-25 stats: 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 39.5% three-point shooting

Fun facts: He was widely considered one of the best Pop Warner running backs in the country at 10 years old. He is the sixth youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career postseason points.

In a trade that sent shockwaves through the NBA last fall — about a month before the start of the season — Minnesota sent franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to New York and brought back Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Many analysts deemed the trade a failure for the Wolves, believing the team got significantly worse by doing so.

For three-fourths of the season, those analysts appeared correct as Minnesota was just 32-29 after a loss at Utah (worst record in the NBA). But things changed after that defeat, as the Wolves went 17-4 to close the regular season before going 8-2 in the playoffs. Randle has emerged as a bona fide star with stellar play in the postseason.

2024-25 stats: 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists

Fun fact: Randle’s mom, Carolyn Kyles, played college basketball at Texas-Arlington.

McDaniels’ journey to Minnesota was interesting.

In the 2020 NBA draft, he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 28 overall pick. He was then traded to Oklahoma City, before again being rerouted, this time to the Wolves. During his time in Minnesota, he has emerged as one of the NBA‘s best wing defenders while upping his offensive skill set to become a more complete player.

2024-25 stats: 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals

Fun fact: McDaniels is a cousin of former NBA big man Juwan Howard. As a freshman in high school, McDaniels learned to shoot lefthanded because of a right elbow injury.

One of the most veteran players in the NBA, Conley arrived in Minnesota via a trade in February 2023 from the Utah Jazz. Ironically, the Jazz and Wolves were set to tip off in Salt Lake City when news of the trade broke, forcing Conley to walk across the court and into the visitors’ locker room to meet his new teammates.

2024-25 stats: 8.2 points, 4.5 assists, 41% three-point shooting

Fun facts: He has never received a technical foul in 18 NBA seasons. He’s one of four players (along with Durant, Al Horford and Jeff Green) still in the NBA from the 2007 draft.

July 6, 2022, was the first big domino to fall in the Wolves’ current journey when President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly traded for Gobert from Utah, sending out a massive haul of draft picks and players. Again, it was seen as a terrible trade for Minnesota, but Gobert has been the rock defensively for one of the NBA’s best teams over the last few years.

2024-25 stats: 12.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks

Fun fact: Gobert started the 2022 NBA playoffs with a black eye after he was stung by a bee from his own hive the morning of Game 1. He finished with 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in Utah’s 99-93 win over Dallas.

After going undrafted in 2019, Reid signed with the Wolves and has been beloved ever since. He was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2024 and has emerged as one of the core pieces for the team.

2024-25 stats: 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 37.9% three-point shooting

Fun facts: Reid has a cult following among fans in Minnesota. Beach towels with his name on them sold for $100 on eBay, and a local tattoo artist offered $20 tattoos of Reid’s name (with more than 200 people getting the tattoo).

Often thought of as the throw-in to the Randle-Towns trade last year, DiVincenzo was a player Connelly and Finch pursued as someone who could have a major role with the Wolves. In his first season with Minnesota, he’s brought a sense of tenacity and nastiness to the team.

2024-25 stats: 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 39.7% three-point shooting

Fun facts: He holds the New York Knicks’ franchise records for three-point shots made in a single game and a single season.

Similar to DiVincenzo, Alexander-Walker was thought of as a throw-in to the trade that brought Conley to Minnesota. After struggling to find his footing in the NBA, he has emerged with the Wolves as a point-of-attack defender capable of knocking down open threes and facilitating the offense.

2024-25 stats: 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 38.1% three-point shooting

Fun fact: He is a cousin of Oklahoma City star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The wily veteran of the group, Ingles’ impact is felt in the locker room, as he helps the younger players establish themselves in the NBA and understand the importance of the moments in the postseason.

Fun fact: He’s the all-time leader in three-pointers made for the Jazz. His son Jacob was diagnosed with autism, leading Ingles to become an advocate for autism awareness.

A rookie who had moments with the team this season, Shannon is the player Finch will turn to if his team needs a spark off the bench.

Fun facts: His No. 0 was retired by the University of Illinois, but during the halftime ceremony, his jersey was hung upside down.

Another rookie, Dillingham spent most of his season with the Iowa Wolves of the G League. Many view his future bright as the point guard of the Wolves.

Fun fact: During his junior year of high school, he attended Donda Academy, which was founded by Kanye West.

A second-round pick in 2023, Clark missed all of the 2023-24 season recovering from a torn right Achilles suffered at UCLA. He emerged as one of Minnesota’s most potent on-ball defenders.

Fun fact: He won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023 at UCLA.

Garza signed with the Wolves as a free agent in 2022, and the team converted his deal to a two-way contract. He was named MVP of the G League’s inaugural Next Up Game for the 2022–23 season.

Fun fact: He comes from a basketball family, as his mother played professionally in Europe and his uncle Teoman Alibegović is Slovenia’s second all-time leading scorer for the senior national team.

After being selected by Charlotte 45th overall in the 2022 NBA draft, Minott was traded to the Wolves with a second-round pick in exchange for the 40th pick.

Fun fact: He’s a dual citizen of the United States and Jamaica.

Drafted in the second round by San Antonio in 2023, Miller was later traded to Minnesota that night. He has spent the last two seasons between the Iowa Wolves and the Wolves.

Fun fact: He played for four high schools before playing a postgraduate season at Fort Erie International Academy upon his return to Canada. He went from having zero college offers to 25 after growing from a 6-4 guard to a 6-10 wing over an 18-month period.