The Minnesota Timberwolves are your little secret no longer. For years, they have been virtually ignored by the NBA’s national television partners, save for the occasional game against a big market opponent.
Last year when the schedule was released, the Wolves had five games slated for ESPN or TNT, despite having an exciting young team with a promising star in waiting in Anthony Edwards. Flash forward a year, after a run to the Western Conference finals and a coming-out party for Edwards both at home and abroad, and the Wolves have become bona fide box office attractions.
The NBA released the full schedule on Thursday, and the Wolves are initially slated for 18 games on ESPN, ABC and TNT. That includes being a part of the opening-night slate with a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Oct. 22, and a Christmas Day game in Dallas against the Mavericks. Another seven games are set for NBATV.
It’s the first time the Timberwolves have been a part of the opening night festivities since the league began making the night more of an event in 2002. It is also the first Christmas Day game for Minnesota since 2017 and only the third time they’ve played on the NBA’s biggest regular season day in franchise history.
Other prime national TV dates include a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game at Memphis on Jan. 20 (TNT), home against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 2 (TNT), the first home game against division rival Denver on Nov. 1 (ESPN) and a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 13 (TNT).
As jarring as it is to see the Wolves featured so often on the bigger stage, it was expected. They are coming off one of the best seasons in franchise history and enter the 2024-25 season expecting to contend for the Western Conference crown. Nearly everyone is back from last season, including Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid and All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who will be playing his 10th season in Minnesota. The Wolves also traded for the No. 8 pick in the draft to take dynamic guard Rob Dillingham and may have found a player in 27th overall pick Terrence Shannon Jr.
Of course, the biggest reason the Wolves find themselves in so many national games is Edwards. He is coming off a gold-medal run with Team USA in Paris and has fast emerged as one of the most marketable and exciting young players in the league. His AE1 signature shoe with Adidas is one of the most popular shoes on the market. He has seemingly perfected the art of the sound bite with his interviews, and he is a nightly feature on the social media highlight reels with explosive game.
With LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant all getting older, the league is searching for its next bankable star. At 23 years old, with a wide smile and a ferocious game, Edwards is one of the most likely candidates to take the baton.
One of the biggest reasons that he is getting this attention is because he has helped turn a long-struggling franchise into a consistent winner. The Wolves have made the playoffs three straight years, and Edwards has shown a knack for raising his game in big moments. Their run through Phoenix and Denver last spring showed what they are capable of doing, and they have vowed to learn from the mistakes they made against Dallas in the conference finals.
With Towns, Gobert, Mike Conley and the newly added Joe Ingles there for veteran leadership, the Wolves have a solid mix of youth and experience. There have been many years in Timberwolves lore when all that their fans had to look forward to when the schedule was released was when some of the best players from other teams were coming to town. Now, Edwards and the Wolves are the show.
Expectations are high and the spotlight has found them. Now they have to continue winning to validate all of this attention.
Other notable schedule features:
- The NBA Cup dates: The Wolves are in West Group A. They begin play on Nov. 12 at Portland, then go to Sacramento on Nov. 15. They host Houston on Nov. 26 and will have a home game against the LA Clippers added to the schedule at a later date. If the Wolves advance in the In-Season Tournament, the semifinals are on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas. The finals are on Dec. 17.
- The Wolves have two games featured as part of the league’s Rivals Week: Jan. 22 at Dallas (ESPN) and home against Denver on Jan. 25 (ABC).
- One of the toughest stretches of the season: a five-game road trip from April 1-10 that starts in Denver, then goes to Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Memphis.
- Another daunting stretch surrounds the All-Star break in February. The Wolves play at Cleveland (Feb. 10) and home against Milwaukee (Feb. 12) and Oklahoma City (Feb. 13) before the break, then come out of it at Houston (Feb. 21), vs. OKC (Feb. 23), at OKC (Feb. 24), at the Lakers (Feb. 27), at Utah (Feb. 28) at Phoenix (March 2) and home against Philadelphia (March 4).
- The Wolves host the Suns on Nov. 17, giving Edwards another crack at Durant, his favorite player, and his fellow Team USA teammate Devin Booker.
- The Wolves have two five-game homestands: Feb. 1-8 hosting Washington, Sacramento, Chicago, Houston and Portland and then from March 14-21 featuring Orlando, Utah, Indiana and New Orleans.
- They will have 14 back-to-backs after playing 13 last season. Two of them will come in baseball-series style against the same opponent: Nov. 12-13 at Portland and Feb. 23 vs. OKC and then at the Thunder on Feb. 24. The Wolves will also play two straight games at Golden State on Dec. 6 and 8 and home against New Orleans March 19 and 21.
- The Miami Heat come to town on Nov. 10. Paging Jimmy Butler.
(Photo of Anthony Edwards: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
