Anthony Edwards, guarded by Scottie Pippen Jr., during his 41-point performance against Memphis.
Throughout the middle of January, the Timberwolves looked lost. Following a 6-1 stretch that included impressive wins over Cleveland, San Antonio and Miami, they dropped a season-high five consecutive games, their longest losing streak since 2022 (six).
Despite herculean efforts from both Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle – Edwards scored a career-high 55 points in a 126-123 loss to the Spurs, and Randle went for 30-plus twice – Minnesota struggled to find consistency to close out contests, falling to non-playoff teams in the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.
However, after a brutal loss to Golden State in which they scored a season-worst 85 points, things have gone much better in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Over their last 15 outings, the Wolves are 11-4, tied for the sixth-best mark in the league during that span. They’ve racked up big wins versus the Thunder, Raptors and Warriors, and then got revenge in Denver last Sunday for their first victory against the Nuggets this season (1-3), moving Minnesota into fourth place in the Western Conference.
Let’s break down five reasons why they’re making a push in the west:
1. Ant-Man
The NBA’s third-leading scorer at a career-high 29.7 points per game has taken his game to another level in Year 6. Edwards is posting career-best stats in several categories, including field goals made (10.3) and attempted (20.9), field goal percentage (49.3), 3-point percentage (40.2), effective field goal percentage (57.6), true shooting percentage (61.7), free throws made (5.6) and attempted (7.1), individual offensive rating (118.6) and turnover ratio (9.2). Edwards is second behind only Luka Dončić’s nine games of 40+ points, with seven such outings. In six games post-All-Star break appearances, he’s averaging 30.8 ppg on 49.6% shooting with games of 41, 40, 34 and 31 in that stretch.
When the game is on the line, Edwards answers the call. Out of 116 players with at least 20 clutch games played this season, Ant ranks second in scoring at 5.9 points on 56.0 /36.1/ 82.1 shooting splits. Only reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores more in clutch time (6.6 ppg).
2. Efficient offense
The Timberwolves are fourth in scoring (119.1 ppg), third in overall FG% (48.4), fifth in 3P% (37.4), ninth in OFFRTG (116.5) and NETRTG (4.3), fourth in eFG% (56.4) and fifth in TS% (59.5). Edwards is certainly an integral part of Minnesota’s dynamic offense. Still, Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Jaden McDaniels have played a huge role in the improvements this team has made since 2024-25.
In terms of individual offensive efficiency, Randle’s on/off-court splits stand out the most. When he’s on the court, the Wolves have an OFFRTG of 118.7 (best) compared to 106.4 (worst) when he’s off, a 12.3 differential. After averaging 18.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 4.7 apg and 0.7 spg with a +2.4 plus-minus on 48.5% shooting (6.6-13.6 FG) in 69 appearances during his first year in Minnesota, Randle has improved those numbers to 21.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.4 apg and 1.1 spg with a +3.7 plus-minus on 48.4% shooting on more volume (7.5-15.5 FG) across 61 games in year two.
3. Imposing defense
Although not as staunch on defense as they were a year ago, the Wolves are still among the ten best units in the NBA in 2025-26. They’re currently 13th in opponents’ scoring by allowing 114.6 ppg, but rank seventh in average point differential at -4.6, and they’re active in passing lanes (8.8 spg, 9th) and imposing around the basket (5.7 bpg, 4th). When looking at advanced metrics, Minnesota is ninth in DEFRTG (112.3) and total rebounding percentage (50.3), tenth in opponent’s FG% (46.2), seventh in opponent’s eFG% (53.2) and fast break points allowed (14.5), and eighth in opponent’s second chance scoring (14.2).
The Timberwolves’ pillar in the middle, Rudy Gobert, is fourth in rebounding (11.5 rpg) and sixth in blocks (1.6 bpg) among qualified players, and he’s a big reason the Wolves are fourth in defended FG% (59.8) less than six feet from the basket. Add in rising two-way wing McDaniels, who’s averaging a career-high 15.2 ppg and 1.1 bpg in addition to 1.1 spg, it’s no surprise they’re posting another great year on the defensive end.
4. Good health
As one of the three takeaways from John Schuhmann’s latest Power Rankings for Week 20, where Minnesota has climbed to No. 7, it’s important to note that good health and continuity have been a major factor in their late push up the standings. Among their top six players in minutes played (excluding Ayo Dosunmu) this season – Edwards, Randle, McDaniels, Naz Reid, DiVincenzo and Gobert – have only missed a combined 17 games out of 61 up to this point. Ant has missed the most with 10, while DiVincenzo and Randle have suited up for every contest, which leads us into our fifth and final reason.
5. Continuity and experience
If you haven’t been paying attention to the NBA over the last few years, there’s a chance you missed the fact that the Timberwolves have been to two straight Western Conference Finals. The core of those teams is largely still intact, with Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Gobert there in 2023-24, and DiVincenzo and Randle on the 2024-25 roster that fell in five games to the eventual league champions, the Thunder. Still, making back-to-back WCF appearances is no small feat, and Minnesota is hoping another year of experience for their talented group, led by Edwards, will be enough to get them over the hump and into the franchise’s first-ever NBA Finals berth.
The starting lineup of Edwards, Gobert, Randle, DiVincenzo, and McDaniels has played the most minutes (621) and games (47) together out of the six lineups with at least 300 minutes of court time. This iteration of the Wolves has been battle-tested, and it should only help them once rotations tighten and the intensity of the postseason arrives.
