The Timberwolves and Lakers clashed four times during the 2024-25 regular season. Let’s take a look back at the previous meetings between the teams as they prepare for their Round 1 matchup this weekend.
Welcome to the Timberwolves’ Moment: Time to Slay the Purple and Gold Hydra
Let’s get one thing straight before we dive into the Game of Thrones-level drama that is Wolves vs. Lakers: if this is a movie, the Timberwolves are the scrappy, blue-collar underdogs from the frigid North—the Rocky Balboa of the Western Conference—and the Lakers? They’re the slick, smug Cobra Kai dojo, still clinging to their “legacy” while demanding every call from the refs like it’s written into their birthright.
So here we are, heading into the first round of the NBA Playoffs, with the Wolves set to battle the Hollywood Globetrotters once again. Four games of regular-season tension. Four games of triumph, heartbreak, and bad whistles. And now? We get the main event. Let’s break down the tale of the tape heading into this epic first-round matcup.
Game 1: October 22, 2024 – Lakers 110, Timberwolves 103
Subtitle: “The Coronation of the Nepo Prince”
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Opening night, and the league clearly sent out engraved invitations for the crowning of Prince Bronny James. And sure, it was historic—LeBron and Bronny sharing the court, like a basketball version of “Field of Dreams,” if the dream was watching your dad yell at refs for 38 minutes.
But this wasn’t a game. It was a Showtime documentary.
Anthony Davis—before he was traded to Dallas—torched us with a 36-16 game. Edwards looked like the only grown-up in the room for Minnesota, dropping 27, but our turnovers played more minutes than Jaden McDaniels. Randle and DiVincenzo were still playing “Guess Who?” with the offensive sets. It showed.
The Wolves weren’t ready. But the seed was planted.
Game 2: December 2, 2024 – Timberwolves 109, Lakers 80
Subtitle: “Now THAT’S a Woodshed”
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
This was Minnesota Timberwolves basketball in its purest form: cold, methodical, and punishing. We basically put the Lakers in a snow globe and shook them until they forgot how to dribble. Randle and Gobert bullied their way to a combined 35 points, and the defense… oh, the defense. It was like watching “The Revenant,” and LeBron was the bear.
He went 4-for-16. Ten points. Looked like he accidentally put on his son’s sneakers.
We held them to 35% shooting and basically told the league, “We can do this. We will do this. And by the way, your legacy calls won’t work in the frozen North.”
This one felt like when you finally beat your older cousin in 2K after years of being dunked on. Therapeutic.
Game 3: December 13, 2024 – Timberwolves 97, Lakers 87
Subtitle: “The Grind Game”
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
No LeBron this time (personal reasons, probably tired from carrying the nepotism torch), and yet the Lakers still couldn’t figure us out. Julius Randle put on his hard hat, dropped 15 in the first half, and Jaden McDaniels played like he was auditioning for the 1994 Knicks. Four steals in the first quarter. Four!
Ant was quiet, but it didn’t matter. This was a “win ugly” game, and you know what? That’s playoff basketball. Sometimes it’s not the pyrotechnics. Sometimes it’s just strangling the other team with a defensive boa constrictor for four quarters. This was us saying, “We don’t need Ant to drop 30 to beat you.”
The Lakers looked confused. We looked scary.
Game 4: February 27, 2025 – Lakers 111, Timberwolves 102
Subtitle: “The Ref Show”
Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
Let’s talk about it.
Anthony Edwards ejected for what, clapping too hard? This game was a masterclass in referee overreach. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic—yes, that Luka Doncic—put on a Euro-stepping clinic while LeBron played puppet master.
It felt like the league needed this win for the Lakers. The free-throw disparity was straight out of the 2002 Western Conference Finals playbook (hi, Kings fans). We got hosed. And still—still—NAW and Terrence Shannon Jr. nearly dragged us back.
We lost the battle, but that game was the moment this playoff matchup started writing itself in ink.
So Now What?
We’ve seen this movie before. Plucky young team finally gets enough scars to stop being soft around the edges. They’ve learned how to win ugly, how to lose with rage, how to punch back.
We know what Luka can do, but how will he hold up when Ant is flying around like he’s been mainlining the ‘90s Jordan playoff tapes?
The Lakers are still the villains. Not cartoon villains, but the kind who smile for the camera, get every call, and act like they invented the game. They’ve got the history. The banners. The flash.
But we’ve got the grit. The defense. The guy who could become the face of the league in Anthony Edwards. And we’ve got that simmering fury from February 27 that’s still glowing red just beneath the ice.
This series isn’t just a playoff matchup. It’s a reckoning. It’s the Wolves’ chance to flip the script, storm the Hollywood castle, and tell the league—once and for all—that this ain’t your dad’s Timberwolves anymore.
Let’s go.