By all accounts, the 2025 Western Conference Finals is less about legacy and more about legacy-building.
The top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder and sixth-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves tangle in a battle of two of the league’s brightest young stars—and two franchises chasing history.
Game 1 of the 2025 Western Conference Finals tips off Wednesday (PH time), May 21.
Two of the league's top young stars in Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headline the Western Conference Finals!
— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2025
The Timberwolves visit the Thunder for GAME 1 on Tuesday at 8:30pm/et on ESPN 🍿
It marks the first playoff meeting between the teams since the Thunder franchise relocated from Seattle in 2008.
The only prior postseason matchup came in 1998, when the then-Seattle Supersonics edged out the Timberwolves in a five-game first-round series.
More than two decades later, the stage is set for a showdown between superstars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards as both aim to lead their respective franchises to long-awaited NBA Finals appearances.
Regular season head-to-head series
Oklahoma City and Minnesota went toe-to-toe in the regular season, splitting the series 2–2.
While each game had its moments, one storyline stood above all — SGA was nearly unstoppable — scoring 37, 39, and 40 in three of those matchups.
How the OKC Thunder Got Here
Entering the season with the sting of a 2024 semifinal exit, the Oklahoma City Thunder reloaded with purpose.
They traded Josh Giddey for defensive stalwart Alex Caruso and signed veteran center Isaiah Hartenstein to bolster their interior.
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The moves proved catalytic.
OKC blitzed through the 2024–25 regular season, finishing with a league-best 68–14 record—the best mark in franchise history.
The Thunder also set records for most home (35) and road (32) wins in OKC history, ripped off a franchise-record 15-game winning streak, and finished 16 games clear of second-place Houston (52–30) for the West top playoff seed.
Their +12.6 point differential is the highest in NBA history, and their 29–1 record against Eastern Conference teams is the best interconference mark ever recorded.
SGA earned his third All-Star selection while teammate Jalen Williams picked up his first. Together with Chet Holmgren and perhaps the league’s deepest supporting cast, the Thunder carved out a resume that statistically ranks them among the most dominant teams the league has seen in its 79 seasons.
In the first round, the Thunder swept the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies highlighted by a historic 29-point halftime comeback in Game 3—tied for the second-largest playoff comeback in NBA history.
[ALSO READ: SGA on historic 29-point Thunder Game 3 comeback: 'If they can build it, we can erase it']
OKC then met the 2023 champions Denver Nuggets as it also pitted the battle between the two MVP frontrunners in SGA and three-time winner Nikola Jokic.
The series went seven games, but Oklahoma City dominated Game 7 in a 125–93 home blowout—the seventh-largest margin of victory in a Game 7 in league history.
Gilgeous-Alexander is currently averaging 29.0 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.9 rebounds during the ongoing playoffs as first-time All-Star Jalen Williams (19.6 PPG) and Chet Holmgren (15.7 PPG, 2.7 BPG) emerged as key contributors.
Now in their first conference finals since 2016, the Thunder are four wins away from their first NBA Finals berth since 2012—and hunting for their first title since the 1979 SuperSonics era.
How The Minnesota Timberwolves Got Here
Minnesota’s journey back to the West Finals has been rockier but no less compelling.
After falling in five games to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 West Finals, Minnesota shook up its core by trading franchise star Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in October.
[ALSO READ: "I feel wanted here": Julius Randle may have finally found home in Minnesota]
The move initially brought mixed results.
The Wolves struggled early, going just 17–17 in their first 34 games and entered the All-Star break at 31–25.
But after midseason adjustments, Minnesota finished strong, going 18–5 down the stretch to grab the West’s No. 6 seed at 49–33.
ANT GOES FOR 43.
— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2025
TIMBERWOLVES CLINCH THE 6 SEED.
Minnesota booted out Luka Doncic, LeBron Hames and the no. 3 LA Lakers in the opening round in five games, capped off by four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's monster 27-point, 24-rebound performance in a Game 5 closeout on the road.
[ALSO READ: Rudy Gobert’s monster 27-24 game vs Lakers sends Timberwolves to West semis]
In the West semifinals, the Timberwolves caught a break when Golden State star Stephen Curry suffered a hamstring strain in Game 1. Though the Warriors stole the opener, Curry missed the next four games, and Minnesota rolled to a gentleman’s sweep.
[ALSO READ: Timberwolves return to West Finals after dispatching Warriors in Game 5]
Edwards continued to elevate his play in the biggest stage, averaging 26.5 points, eight rebounds and 5.9 assists in the postseason. Randle (23.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.9 APG) has proven himself to be a reliable second option and a ‘playoff riser.'
Jaden McDaniels (15.9 PPG) and Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid (11.0 PPG) offer valuable depth as Gobert anchors the defense with 9.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
The Timberwolves are making back-to-back conference finals appearances for the first time in franchise history and have lost only three games since March 28 including the postseason. Minnesota is now 25–6 since March 1 and aiming for their first NBA Finals berth—and first championship—in franchise history.
The Future is Now
This Western Conference Finals isn’t just a battle between Oklahoma City and Minnesota—it’s a glimpse into the league’s future.
SGA and Edwards are two of the league’s brightest stars and each are hellbent on taking their respective teams to the promised land.
For the Thunder, a return to the Finals would validate their patient rebuild and affirm their status as a new powerhouse. As for the Timberwolves, it’s a chance to complete a long climb out of irrelevance and break new ground.
But between the two squads, only one will get the chance to make history.
