You don’t have to go back very far in history to find long periods when the Timberwolves were a national laughing stock and the butt of local jokes.
You don’t even have to go back a year to see that the franchise is at a potential crossroads, with plenty of questions remaining about the viability of a plan to pair Rudy Gobert with Karl-Anthony Towns after a lackluster first season and early exit from the 2022-23 playoffs.
So the resurgence of Wolves’ image over the past few months has been nothing short of phenomenal, even when compared to a year, years or even decades ago.
The Timberwolves finished with a 56-26 season and a trip to the Western Conference finals, then had a strong offseason, acquiring two highly-touted first-round draft picks to pair with the core of a star-studded returning team.
The Timberwolves have the depth of a roster that can win now and win later, giving them a chance to contend for a championship, and the recent rankings, however arbitrary, are a testament to both the Timberwolves’ chances and the recent shift in perception of the franchise, something Chip Scoggins and I discussed on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Of the 36 teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL who have never won a championship, the Timberwolves are considered the most likely to be the next team to break their championship streak.
They are followed by the NFL’s Texans, Bills and Bengals, with the NHL’s Canucks rounding out the top 5. Incidentally, the Wild settle for 15th and the Vikings 22nd (more on both teams later).
And wouldn’t you know it? It’s hard to argue with the Timberwolves being at the top of the list, or at least in the top five.
The NBA’s Western Conference is packed with good teams, including an up-and-coming Thunder team that also has a bright future (although that team isn’t on this list because they moved to Oklahoma City after winning in Seattle), but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Timberwolves make it to the NBA Finals at least once in the next five years, and once they get there, they just need to win four games.
The Wild being ranked higher than the Vikings is a testament to three factors: NHL teams have historically done surprisingly well in the playoffs, so simply making the playoffs gives the Wild a chance, the Wild’s prospect pool is highly rated and will produce results quickly, while punitive Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are just one year away from buyouts, and despite the Vikings’ optimism, they are a total unknown at quarterback. Until we know more about JJ McCarthy’s development, it’s hard to get too excited about the next three to five years.
Both of these franchises are years behind the Timberwolves in terms of trajectory, which would have been absurd to say at many other points in history.
There are four more things you need to know today.
*Chip and I also spoke about his recent column on the ongoing Twins TV mess. It’s been more than two months since Comcast canceled Bally Sports North, and there’s no sign of it being resolved anytime soon.
*The Yankees are in freefall, which will probably make you all happy.
*The Twins and White Sox will play a doubleheader today after Tuesday’s rainout, then the Twins won’t play until late Friday and will have a 48-hour break.
*The Lynx have won two straight games without injured star Napheesa Collier. We’ll have more on the Lynx and their next game, Sunday against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever, on Thursday’s podcast with Star Tribune correspondent Kent Youngblood.
