November 1, 2026
November 1, 2026
Minnesota Timberwolves 2025-26 Season: Grit, Injuries and a Second-Round Wall
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2025-26 season tested how much a contender can absorb and still keep standing. Fresh off back-to-back Western Conference finals, Minnesota chased a third deep run under new ownership. Anthony Edwards delivered another star turn, and a midseason trade produced one of the great bench performances in playoff history. The Wolves clawed past Denver in the first round despite losing two key guards in a single afternoon. San Antonio finally ended the run in the conference semifinals, and the margin of that defeat told its own story.
Continuity was the summer’s priority, and the front office paid to protect it. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly re-signed Naz Reid, Julius Randle and Joe Ingles in July. Reid had won Sixth Man of the Year in 2024, and Randle had become a dependable second scorer during the 2025 playoff run.
The cost of that loyalty was depth on the wing. Nickeil Alexander-Walker departed for Atlanta in a sign-and-trade, taking his perimeter defense with him. Minnesota used the 17th pick in the draft on French center Joan Beringer, a long-term bet behind Rudy Gobert. Second-round pick Rasheer Fleming added size at forward.
The franchise also entered a new era off the court. Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore completed their purchase of the team in June 2025, ending Glen Taylor’s long tenure. Their first season arrived with expectations that no longer allowed for patience.
Chris Finch returned to steer the same defense-first identity that had carried Minnesota to consecutive conference finals. Gobert anchored the paint, Jaden McDaniels guarded the opponent’s best wing, and Edwards carried the scoring burden. The formula had worked twice. The question was whether it could work a third time.
Minnesota stumbled out of the gate. The Wolves dropped three of their first five games before seizing control in November with a 10-5 month. That stretch steadied a season that could have drifted early.
Christmas Day brought a thriller and a heartbreak. Minnesota fell 142-138 in overtime at Denver as Nikola Jokic produced a historic 56-point night. January carried another blow. Edwards poured in 55 points at San Antonio on January 17, yet the Wolves still lost 126-123. That defeat sat inside a five-game losing streak, the longest skid of the campaign.
Edwards refused to let the slide define the year. He scored 20 or more points in 21 straight games, tying a franchise record. By early February he was averaging 29.4 points for a 31-19 team sitting fifth in the West. His fourth straight All-Star selection, detailed by FOX 9, placed him alongside Kevin Garnett as the only Wolves players with four or more consecutive nods. He then seized MVP honors at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Connelly made his boldest move of the year at the February deadline. Minnesota acquired Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips from Chicago, sending Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller the other way. The deal sacrificed youth for a ready-made guard who could defend and attack the rim.
The Wolves responded with their best stretch of the season. They won five straight from late February into early March. A 124-104 victory at Indiana on April 7 clinched a playoff berth. Minnesota finished 49-33, third in the Northwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference.
The numbers on Basketball Reference show how the roster divided the work. Edwards averaged 28.8 points and Randle added 21.1. Gobert grabbed 11.5 rebounds per game, while McDaniels and Reid each scored in double figures. Donte DiVincenzo played all 82 games, a quiet constant through a turbulent winter.
The Timberwolves’ 2025-26 season reached its emotional peak against a familiar rival. This was the third playoff meeting with Denver in four years. The Nuggets entered on a 12-game winning streak and stretched it to 13 with a 116-105 Game 1 win.
Game 2 looked like a rout in the making. Denver raced to a 44-25 first-quarter lead at Ball Arena. Minnesota clawed back possession by possession, and Edwards finished with 30 points in a 119-114 win. That comeback flipped the series. Dosunmu then scored 25 in a 113-96 Game 3 victory at Target Center.
Game 4 brought both disaster and glory. DiVincenzo went down on a noncontact play in the first quarter, and the diagnosis was a torn Achilles tendon. Edwards left before halftime with a bone bruise in his left knee. Denver led by seven in the third quarter, and the series threatened to turn.
Dosunmu would not allow it. He scored a career-high 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting, hitting all five three-point attempts and all 12 free throws. The Associated Press noted it was the best playoff scoring game by a reserve since Fred Brown’s 45 in 1976. Minnesota held on 112-96 for a 3-1 lead.
Denver won Game 5, but the shorthanded Wolves finished the job at home. McDaniels delivered 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 110-98 clincher. Terrence Shannon Jr. added 24 in a surprise start. Gobert contributed 13 rebounds and eight assists. That night defined the Timberwolves’ 2025-26 season as a test of depth and nerve.
The second round opened with a gift. Edwards returned ahead of schedule and came off the bench in Game 1 at San Antonio. He scored 11 of Minnesota’s first 19 fourth-quarter points as the Wolves erased a three-point deficit. Victor Wembanyama recorded 12 blocks, and the Spurs closed within two in the final seconds. Julian Champagnie’s three at the buzzer hit the front of the rim, and Minnesota escaped 104-102.
The young Spurs answered with overwhelming force. San Antonio won Game 2 by 38 points and took Game 3 in Minneapolis despite 32 points and 14 rebounds from Edwards. He scored 36 to even the series in Game 4, a 114-109 win.
The Wolves had nothing left after that. San Antonio won Game 5 by 29 and closed the series 139-109 in Game 6 at Target Center. Stephon Castle scored 32 points, and the Spurs set a franchise playoff record with 18 three-pointers. San Antonio outscored Minnesota by 97 points across six games. The full bracket of the 2026 NBA playoffs shows the Spurs advancing to face Oklahoma City.
Finch summarized the ending plainly. “It just felt like we kind of ran out of bullets as this series went on,” he said. Edwards was just as direct, conceding that the Spurs “were just the better team.”
The Timberwolves’ 2025-26 season belongs to the franchise’s most successful era, even without a third straight trip to the conference finals. Minnesota won 49 games for a second consecutive year and won a playoff series for a third straight spring. For a franchise that once endured a 13-year postseason drought, that consistency carries real weight.
The campaign also exposed the limits of the current roster. Injuries to Edwards and DiVincenzo stripped away the backcourt at the worst possible moment. San Antonio’s youth and length then overwhelmed a veteran core built around Gobert, Randle and a 38-year-old Mike Conley.
Dosunmu’s 43-point performance will live in franchise lore as one of the great playoff nights in Minnesota history. Edwards remained the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves, an All-Star MVP still searching for his first Finals appearance. The season left fans with pride in the fight and a clear understanding of the work still ahead.
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