The Oklahoma City Thunder were every part of an inevitable storm in the Western Conference Finals. They sent the Minnesota Timberwolves home in five games, creating a crater-sized gap between the two teams with a 124-94 win to close out the series.
OKC finished with an NBA-best 68 wins in the regular season. Now, they are trying to drown the Indiana Pacers in the Finals — a place the Wolves must urgently try to reach with a core group that has made the Conference Finals in back-to-back years.
However, the Wolves will likely have to suppress OKC’s storm to reach the finals. The Thunder are threatening to sit atop the Western Conference standings for at least the next few seasons. Minnesota must close the gap separating the two teams to take the Thunder down.
It’s a divot that looks a mile wide right now. Sam Presti has built the Thunder’s roster more sound and secure than an underground tornado shelter. However, the Wolves already have a roster blueprint that resembles OKC’s in many ways.
A pathway for the Wolves to take down the Thunder is to continue emulating their model.
The No. 1 Star
Anthony Edwards (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)
After a 20-year search for relevance, desperately seeking a cornerstone capable of being the first MVP in franchise history since Kevin Garnett in 2004, the Timberwolves finally have a player in Edwards who will probably be an MVP at least once at some point in his career. However, Edwards still has a few areas to improve before he takes home the same hardware as Gilgeous-Alexander this season.
“For areas of improvement for him, I think it’s going to be along the think-the-game route,” Chris Finch said during his exit interview regarding Anthony Edwards. “Foul drawing. You can see right now in the league, you see what gets rewarded, and you need to kind of lean into that a little bit, even though it’s not necessarily how he likes to play.”
Edwards attempted 496 free throws in the regular season and 89 in the playoffs, ranking him fifth and seventh league-wide, respectively. The numbers say that Edwards got to the free-throw line plenty, despite an occasional unfavorable whistle. Maybe Edwards doesn’t need to improve at foul drawing, like Finch said. Perhaps Ant needs to be better at foul-baiting, like SGA.
SGA shameless flop
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— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) May 27, 2025
That isn’t how Edwards wants to play, and that isn’t what fans want to see. However, scoring with frequent trips to the free throw attempts is an efficient way for a star to dominate, slow the game down, and take a short rest.
As long as the officials let players foul bait, Edwards must join SGA and learn the tricks of how to hunt calls more frequently, even though it’s annoying to watch.
However, before Adam Silver presents Edwards with the MVP, he must become as consistent as SGA. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged an NBA-best 32.7 points this season, which is a number Finch can’t realistically ask Edwards to produce. However, SGA only had one game with under 20 points and 17 games where he shot under 45%. There was an inevitability to SGA’s 2025 campaign. His teammates could count on him to lead on both ends every game.
Edwards occasionally lacked presence in games on both ends of the floor. Some of his offensive struggles stemmed from a lack of isolation shot-making around him, which allowed defenses to load up on him. However, when Ant checks out defensively, he can only blame himself.
Still, Edwards is 23 years old, and Gilgeous-Alexander is 26. Ant is on the right track to eventually be a serious MVP contender, perhaps within the next three years. That will likely happen if he takes a few notes from SGA’s book. If he does, Edwards may hoist the MVP trophy in the same season as his first Finals appearance.
The Reliable No. 2 Option
Jaden McDaniels (Jalen Williams)
Midway through last season, Finch and his staff figured out the best way to deploy McDaniels is to involve him in more actions that feature him getting inside the 3-point line. Over the final 40 games of the regular season, he averaged 14.4 points on 49.8% shooting. In the playoffs, he averaged 14.7 points on 51.5% shooting, with most of his shots coming in the paint.
McDaniels proved he can give the Wolves a consistent 15-20 points on efficient splits. Finch must view him as Minnesota’s No. 2 scoring option — even if he really isn’t — to make that happen. McDaniels probably won’t give Minnesota the 21.6 points per game that Williams averaged last year, which earned him an All-Star selection. However, McDaniels can pose a similar isolation scoring threat next to Edwards for many years.
McDaniels is also Minnesota’s Lu Dort defensively.
Although he doesn’t send opponents to the Dorture Chamber, McDaniels is the warden in a prison filled with disgruntled stars. Continuing his offensive development and consistency is the next step for McDaniels to reach J-Dub’s level, adding to his already stout defense.
The Versatile Scoring Forward
Reid and Holmgren have different play styles. Holmgren is an off-the-ball threat, sitting in the dunker’s spot or spotting up from 3. Reid looks like a 6-foot-9 point guard with the ball in his hands. Regardless, it is rare to have a lengthy forward with a long wingspan who can put the ball in the bucket at the high rate that Holmgren and Reid can.
Reid has a player option for next season, so if he opts out — which is likely — he will become an unrestricted free agent. However, he wants to re-sign long-term in Minnesota and believes he’s a starting-caliber player. He and Tim Connelly were seen having lunch together last week.
Perhaps this is finally the season where Reid jumps into the starting lineup and blossoms even further, or maybe he remains the Wolves’ 6th man. Connelly must lock up his versatile, fan favorite forward to keep Minnesota’s offense as dynamic as possible.
The Lockdown Bench Threat
Two physical, relentless defenders who can rack up steals immediately after subbing into the game and discombobulate the opposing team’s offensive scheme.
Minnesota knows how vital this role is. Finch didn’t need to watch Wallace wreak havoc on the Wolves in the Conference Finals to find that out. Finch has had the luxury of turning to Nickeil Alexander-Walker for his defensive excellence off the bench, relieving McDaniels of his duties during spurts.
Alexander-Walker is already an unrestricted free agent, and we don’t know if the Wolves will have enough cap space to keep him around. If he leaves, Clark has proven he’s ready for an everyday role in the rotation. Opponents with All-Star selections on their resume shot 23 of 62 (37%) against Clark in the regular season. SGA shot 5 of 17 (29.4%) against him.
The Knockdown Bench Threat
Every team needs a lights-out 3-point shooting threat off the bench, especially teams with No. 1 talents who like penetrating inside. Despite his long-range shot waxing and waning during the season, DiVincenzo is that guy for the Wolves. Isaiah Joe is that guy for OKC.
This season, DiVincenzo shot 39.7% on 7.1 3-point attempts per game. He’s the fifth player in Timberwolves history to shoot 39% or better on at least seven 3-point attempts per game. Joe shot 41.2% on 6.3 3-point attempts this year for the Thunder.
“Just understanding for me, where the shots are going to come from,” said DiVincenzo during his exit interview. “So that I can work on that throughout the entire summer.”
How the Wolves produced DiVincenzo’s 3-point attempts this year was fluid, conflicting with Tom Thibodeau’s more structured offense in New York. With a full off-season to learn what the coaching staff wants from him and understand his teammates better, DiVincenzo should continue to grow more comfortable with his role in Minnesota’s offense going forward.
DiVincenzo has legitimate playmaking chops and can take over a game, so he is more dynamic than Joe. However, Donte’s lights-out 3-point shooting, which abandoned him for most of the playoffs, will continue to be a crucial factor in Edwards and Minnesota’s success.
The Savvy Moves
Last offseason, Oklahoma City made a few crucial moves that turned them into a contender. Presti had enough resources to swing for a big-name star to partner next to SGA. Instead, he added Isaiah Hartenstein, who helped unlock OKC’s offense, and Alex Caruso, who rounded out an all-time great defense.
The Wolves are still in play to land Kevin Durant, although he prefers to play in San Antonio, Houston, or Miami. However, the Wolves don’t need Durant to close the large gap between them and the Thunder.
Instead, Connelly should make a few savvy moves to round out a talent-rich and deep roster. That could be bringing in Lonzo Ball to replace Mike Conley in the starting lineup, or trading for Jrue Holiday. Perhaps the Wolves draft a center with a skillset similar to Hartenstein.
Ultimately, Minnesota’s roster can only get them so far. If they hope to build off the blueprint the Thunder set, the Wolves must play with OKC’s rarely wavering intelligence. That would be the final component to following Oklahoma City’s sound and secure roster blueprint.