Now that we’ve properly buried the Minnesota Timberwolves season, I think it’s safe for us to come back to the table and remember the good times. There were 25 of us who pulled up to the dinner table for Canis Pulsus to reminisce.
What were the favorite on and off court memories from the season?
The fifth-most voted on game was…
5/4 – Ant’s unlikely return steals gm 1 from SAS; 104-102
This was arguably the high of the season for the Wolves. After an emotional round one playoff victory over the Denver Nuggets, all odds were still stacked against Minnesota heading into a date with Victor Wembanyama. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the news broke that Anthony Edwards would be suiting up after missing just about one week from an excruciating knee hyperextension.
It looked like it was going to be all Spurs, as Wemby goaltended swatted away shot after shot. However, the Wolves took control in the fourth quarter and survived till the final buzzer sounded. A 1-0 lead against the two-seed Spurs was a surprise to all.
The fourth-most voted on game was…
12/19 – Ant returns, hits go-ahead 3 before stripping SGA on prime time; 112-107
Anthony Edwards had missed three games in a row mid-December due to nagging right foot soreness. He had already missed a handful of games a couple months ago with a hamstring issue, so the foreshadowing for later in the season was already showing. However, they had a date on Friday night, prime time, against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The first time hosting the Thunder since they were eliminated in the 2025 playoffs.
Just minutes into the game, Minnesota fell behind by double-digits and watched their Head Coach, Chris Finch, go on an epic tirade on the officials. From there, it felt like life was injected into the Wolves as they battled back. It all culminated in a series of dramatic Ant plays on both sides of the ball.
The third-most voted on game was…
3/25 – Wild OT comeback win over Scott Foster and HOU; 110-108
What if I told you the Wolves pulled off the biggest overtime comeback in NBA history against a team they were chasing in playoff positioning near the end of the season while missing Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid? Not unlikely enough? How about Scott Foster going on a personal tirade against the Wolves as well?
This was literally one of the most impossible victories you could think of. It was a total team effort by the rest of the rotation that left Wolves fans in awe.
The second-most voted on game was…
4/25 – Emotional Ayo 43-pt game overshadows Ant & DDV injuries in gm 4; 112-96
It wasn’t surprising to see this game pop up on the list. However, it was also hard to vote for this knowing what happened early on. The Wolves lost Donte DiVincenzo, who Finch and his teammates call “the heart and soul” of the team, for likely a calendar year in the opening quarter. To add injury to injury, Anthony Edwards also took a nasty looking fall on his one healthy leg that would bury most mortal men.
It seemed like Minnesota’s season was over in the first half.
Enter: Ayo Dosunmu. Acquired just about two months ago, Ayo threw on his cape and ripped the heart out of the Denver Nuggets. His career-high 43 points was tied for second-most in franchise history. It was certainly a night to remember at Target Center. For better or worse.
The most voted game was…
4/30 – Jaden finishes off DEN with the game of his life in gm 6; 110-98
Speaking of ripping the heart out of the Nuggets, let me introduce you to one Jaden McDaniels. “Slim,” as his friends know him, had talked some serious trash truth to the Nuggets all series. After Donte and Ant went down in game four, both Nuggets players and fans had a lot to get off their chest at Ball Arena in game five. It was a drubbing by Denver which seemed to be an ominous sign for the next two games.
Wrong.
Jaden single-handedly cooked the Nuggets on both ends of the floor. He scored a career-high 32 points including clutch baskets to end the series. It felt like the dawn of a new era as McDaniels was in full bloom. Was this the precipice of him becoming the second star that we’ve all been waiting for?
Full results:
The third-most voted non-basketball memory was…
Wolves collectively punking the Nuggets
We’ll talk more about Jaden McDaniels below, but he was far from the only player who took it to Denver. Rudy Gobert’s defensive performance against Nikola Jokić was a huge talking point. We already mentioned Ayo Dosunmu’s epic single-game accomplishment. TJ Shannon had two strong games to wrap up the final games. Even Mike Conley looked revived.
This series helped the Wolves improve their all-time postseason record against Denver to 13-10, including 3-1 series advantage.
Return of the black tree jerseys
Wolves fans have been calling for the return of the iconic black tree jerseys ever since the cursed 2018-2019 season. It was a season that most fans wanted to forget, but Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez were able to finally bring them back to life this year. They also had a matching throwback court to boot. Just excellent stuff all around.
The second-most voted non-basketball memory was…
KG’s return to the franchise
Perhaps the only thing more anticipated than the return of the black tree jerseys was the man who memorialized them himself, Kevin Garnett. News started to leak last year that the new ownership group was working on bringing KG back into the fold, but it finally came to life during the last game of the regular season. It was a meaningless game as far as the standings go, but I certainly got teary eyed when they played another KG tribute video, during his walkout to a standing ovation, and also when tipoff was delayed due to Anthony Edwards going to dap him up.
This will never get old.
The most voted non-basketball memory was…
Jaden McDaniels: “They’re all bad defenders.”
What else more is there to say? This will truly go down as one of the most iconic moments in Wolves lore.
Full results:
What do you most hope the Timberwolves do this offseason with their roster?
Trade Julius Randle (92%)
All but two voters hope the Wolves trade Randle this offseason. It’s easy to see why, given his lackluster performance in the postseason and usual up-and-down performance during the regular season. There’s been lots of chatter about what exactly was impacting Julius and if the trade rumors from the Giannis saga really affected him that much.
Either way, there’s clear issues with the current roster construction and shedding Randle for someone else.
Other top voting answers were locking up Ayo Dosunmu, who essentially came at the cost of Rob Dillingham and everything Connelly gave up to acquire him.
Full results:
What non-roster thing do you most hope the Timberwolves do this offseason?
Retain front office (56%)
There’s been quite a few franchises that have made significant changes to their front offices. Tim Connelly’s name has popped up quite a bit, though there hasn’t been any true reason to believe he would be leaving any time soon. He should be due up for a contract extension soon so hopefully ownership prioritize that as well.
Micah Nori continues to be an assistant coach that pops up among head coaching searches around the league. It seems just a matter of time before he moves on as well, but retaining him for another year would be good for the Wolves.
Full results:
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with the final result of the 2025-2026 season?
Slightly satisfied (48%)
Less than a quarter of voters were dissatisfied with the season. Many fans have voiced that the regular season didn’t meet expectations, but they were a surprising success in the postseason given all the injuries. Overall, a satisfied season is still a satisfied season.
Full voting results:
What are you most excited about during the offseason?
Free Agency (36%)
This isn’t a make or break offseason for the Wolves, but they may be just a couple seasons away from that. It seems like the days of “one-way, high usage power forward next to Ant” may be over. It’s almost becoming commonplace to hear the Wolves among possible destinations for high-profile NBA players.
Will Tim Connelly continue to hunt for guys like Giannis, Kyrie, and Kawhi.
Full voting results:
My current feelings on the direction of the Timberwolves are…
Very optimistic (44%)
Even though the season came to a crashing end, we’re still in the “Golden Era” of Timberwolves basketball without an end in sight. Sure, the ascension of the Spurs and dominance of the Thunder continue to loom large, but Ant and the core has yet to hit their prime. There’s still plenty of reason for optimism moving forward.
Full voting results: