Playoff Prospects: Will the Wolves Reach The WCF For The Third Year In A Row?

In this series, we’ll take a look at each NBA team that’s gunning for a deep playoff run. We’ll try to predict the players that will have the biggest impact, as well as the ceiling for each squad in the 2026 postseason.

For two consecutive seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves were one of four teams left standing in the NBA playoffs.

Both times, the Wolves weren’t exactly heavy favorites. With other powerhouses like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets, pundits’ minds were elsewhere as they drew up their final four scenarios leading up to the NBA Finals.

And yet, there was Minnesota, slaying one tough postseason opponent after another. Their combination of size, athleticism, and robust scoring was what ended the Nuggets’ bid for back-to-back titles in 2024. Last year, it also spelled the downfall of Stephen Curry’s Warriors and a talented Lakers squad bannered by LeBron James and Luka Dončić.

The question is, will the Wolves reach the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row? They might very well land at the No. 6 spot behind the Houston Rockets, but the rabid fanbase in Minneapolis will recall that this is exactly where the Wolves were at the end of the 2024-25 season. The sixth seed is less than ideal, but Chris Finch’s crew has been here before.

At the heart of the Wolves’ operations is Anthony Edwards, a brash, stubborn athlete who is widely deemed the spiritual successor to the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

It’s not just the turnaround jumpers and the ferocious dunks that invite these comparisons. Ultimately, Edwards looks Jordanesque and Kobe-like every time he embraces the big moment and makes one clutch shot after another.

This season, Ant-Man earned his fourth consecutive All-Star nod. He won’t be eligible to win major awards like MVP and All-NBA selection, but Edwards will certainly have his eyes fixed on the richest prize at the end of the season.

If Edwards is Jordan, does that make Jaden McDaniels his Scottie Pippen?

With all due respect to the two-way big man that is Julius Randle, McDaniels has a closer physical comparison to the Hall of Famer who won six NBA championships alongside MJ. Blessed with an impressive wingspan, McDaniels is capable of picking up the opposing team’s best perimeter threat while also contributing on offense.

McDaniels’ health, however, is a question mark at this point as he deals with knee issues right before the playoffs. Whether McDaniels is 100% in the postseason can spell the difference between a deep playoff run and a quick exit for the Timberwolves.

A second straight No. 6 finish will land the Wolves in a first-round series against a familiar opponent. Though the Lakers shored up their frontcourt with offseason additions like Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia, they’ve continued to struggle with teams that have size. The Timberwolves (with their frontcourt duo of Randle and Rudy Gobert) fit that bill, and as such, it’s likely that the Wolves will once again dispatch the Lakers in the first round.

Once Minnesota reaches the West semis, however, there’s a good chance that they will no longer have a size advantage. The San Antonio Spurs are heavy favorites against whoever they face in the first round, and with Victor Wembanyama in tow, the Spurs will likely end the Wolves’ bid for a third straight conference finals appearance.