The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves are the two teams left standing in the West. The Thunder and Wolves are meeting in the Western Conference finals with both franchises looking for a long-awaited NBA Finals appearance. Oklahoma City has not been to the NBA Finals since 2012, while the Timberwolves have no Finals appearances in their history. Game 1 is Tuesday night in OKC.
The top-seeded Thunder have been the West’s top team all season long. They won 68 games in the regular season and swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. But they were tested in the second round by Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets. OKC won the second-round series in seven games, blowing out Denver in Game 7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the presumptive NBA MVP, has been leading the Thunder in scoring throughout the playoffs and posted 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting in Game 7.
The Wolves have a superstar scorer of their own as Anthony Edwards has brought Minnesota to the conference finals for the second year in a row. The Timberwolves are 8-2 so far in these playoffs, eliminating the Lakers and Warriors through two rounds. Minnesota dropped Game 1 against Golden State, but then rattled off four consecutive wins as Stephen Curry was sidelined with a hamstring strain.
The Timberwolves hope to avenge last postseason’s conference finals disappointment, as they lost in five games against the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. The Thunder are in the conference finals for the first time since 2016, when they came up short against the Warriors.
Below is the complete schedule for the Western Conference finals.
Western Conference finals schedule
All times Eastern
Game 1: Tuesday, May 20 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 2: Thursday, May 22 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 3: Saturday, May 24 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 4: Monday, May 26 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 6: Friday, May 30 | Thunder vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
*Game 7: Sunday, June 1 | Timberwolves vs. Thunder | 8 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Thunder vs. Timberwolves odds
Odds via DraftKings
- Series odds: Thunder -330, Timberwolves +265
- Game 1 odds: Thunder -7.5, O/U 216
Thunder vs. Timberwolves: Game 1 best bet
If you think Minnesota has any hope in this series, it probably relies on winning Game 1. They have a four-day rest advantage over the Thunder. Oklahoma City will probably have a whiff of strategic whiplash going from seven games against the Nuggets to a Timberwolves team that plays fairly differently. That doesn’t necessarily mean Minnesota is going to win, but any team that reaches the conference finals should be able to cover a spread this big under these circumstances. The Pick: Timberwolves +7.5
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