The Oklahoma City Thunder went through plenty of learning experiences in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, and that all came to a head in Game 7 as the Thunder overcame an early 11-point deficit to blow out the Nuggets 125-93 in OKC. Now the Thunder has another massive test as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, starting with Game 1 in Oklahoma City.
We heard you loud & clear, Thunder fans 💙 pic.twitter.com/3cSsMBzsKx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 19, 2025
The last time these two teams met ended in disaster as the Thunder faithful watched OKC squander a 25-point lead in the second half before losing in overtime 131-128. The Thunder has played a lot of great basketball since then, winning 22 of their last 25 games to finish the season. Minnesota has been solid as well, finishing at 17-6 to finish the season.
The superstar matchup between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards may be the talk of the series, but there are plenty of other players to focus on as well. OKC is going to need Jalen Williams to pick up where he left off in Game 7, but Julius Randle has arguably been the best player for Minnesota through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have been great for the Thunder, but Rudy Gobert is a 4-time Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. And don’t forget about the veteran leadership of Mike Conley for the Timberwolves. Add to it that Minnesota’s bench is a lot deeper than Denver’s, which should match up well with the Thunder’s role players, and this should make for a great Western Conference Finals.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: ESPN
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Minnesota Timberwolves Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Timberwolves
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Anthony Edwards
- SF: Jaden McDaniels
- PF: Julius Randle
- C: Rudy Gobert
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Timberwolves
- NONE
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 40-26 against the Timberwolves (20-12 at home, 20-14 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the 4-game regular season series against the Timberwolves 9 times, lost it 3 times, and tied it 4 times.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Timberwolves in the regular season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- This is the first meeting between the Thunder and the Timberwolves in the playoffs.