There will be a new NBA champion. A lot of them, actually, considering almost all of the players left in these playoffs have not even played in the NBA Finals. The New York Knicks haven’t won an NBA championship since 1973. The Indiana Pacers won their most recent title that year — in the ABA. The Oklahoma City Thunder franchise has one title in its history, that coming in 1979 when the team called Seattle home.
And the Minnesota Timberwolves have never even been to the NBA Finals. One of the four teams is going to make in an historical championship for their respective franchise - so can the Timberwolves get it done?
"It's not about who gets 30 points, who gets the most shots, who gets all the blame for winning the game and it's not about none of that," says the Wolves young star Anthony Edwards. "It's about coming together as a team. Can we can we defend at a high level and can we limit the other team to one shot? It doesn't really matter about offense as long as we get good shots and it don't matter who shoots it."
The Western Conference finals — No. 6 seed Minnesota vs. No. 1 seed Oklahoma City — begin Tuesday night in Oklahoma. The Wolves lost the West finals last year to Dallas and are hoping to take the next step this season.
"This year I feel like we're mature enough," center Rudy Gobert explained. "I feel like we understand where we're at and so in a way that's the lesson. In our preparation, in our approach, it's about us. It's not about who we face, it's about our mindset and our mindset and our work."
No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, 8-2) vs. No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, 8-3)
Season series: Tied, 2-2.
Schedule: Game 1 at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Game 2 at Oklahoma City on Thursday, Game 3 at Minnesota on Saturday, Game 4 at Minnesota on May 26, Game 5 at Oklahoma City on May 28 (if necessary), Game 6 at Minnesota on May 30 (if necessary), Game 7 at Oklahoma City on June 1 (if necessary).
All games are a 7:30 p.m. CDT start, except Game 7 which would be 7:00 p.m.
How they got here: Oklahoma City swept Memphis in Round 1 and needed seven games to oust Denver in Round 2. The Timberwolves topped LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in Round 1; they beat Golden State — which lost Stephen Curry in Game 1 — in five games in Round 2.
Story line: Oklahoma City hasn't been to the NBA Finals since 2012, when Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook led the way into a matchup with Miami — a series that saw LeBron James win his first championship. Minnesota has never been to the NBA Finals and now is four wins from changing that. The Thunder had the biggest scoring differential in the NBA this season, outscoring teams by an average of 12.9 points per game. But a number inside that number jumps out; Minnesota outscored Oklahoma City by a total of three points in their four head-to-head meetings. (The Thunder outscored everyone else by 13.6 points per game).
Key matchup: Apologies for the obvious, but it's Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Minnesota's Anthony Edwards. Gilgeous-Alexander is the likely NBA MVP this season; Edwards is an Olympic gold medalist and it won't surprise anybody if he's an MVP before long. Dynamic guards who control the game and will have the ball in their hands on every play when the outcome hangs in the balance.
X-factors: Gilgeous-Alexander will probably be guarded at times by Minnesota's Nickeil Alexander-Walker, his cousin — who has had some success against the OKC star on the defensive end. The paint defense of Minnesota's Rudy Gobert could be huge in this series, especially since the Thunder have shot 58% in the paint in the playoffs. And Minnesota cannot turn the ball over; OKC has gotten 20 points per game off takeaways through the first two rounds.