Minnesota Timberwolves Odds, Predictions and 2023/24 NBA Season Preview

The Minnesota Timberwolves finished last season with a 42-40 record that got them the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

They lost their playoff series in five games against the eventual NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets.

Despite losing in the first round in the past two seasons and not advancing past that around since 2002/03, the T-Wolves are entering 2023/24 with largely the same roster core.

2022/23 Minnesota Timberwolves	Record: 42-40
	Result: Lost to Denver Nuggets in West First Round

Minnesota Timberwolves Odds

To win 2023/24 NBA Championship	+7000
To win 2023/24 Western Conference	+3300

Star Players

Karl-Anthony Towns

The first-overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Towns has long been a borderline superstar.

He can guide a team to the playoffs as he showed last year and puts up numbers, with per-game averages of 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists last season.

But he has never led the T-Wolves past the first round of the playoffs. General manager Tim Connelly hoped that would change after acquiring three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert, but the two seven-footers did not gel as well as he expected.

Rudy Gobert

The aforementioned three-time Defensive Player of the Year was acquired in a blockbuster trade in the summer of 2022. 

After being the main man in the paint for the Utah Jazz, Gobert’s production took a hit as he adjusted to playing with another seven-footer.

As a starter in the NBA, he has never averaged fewer blocks per game than he did in his first season in Minnesota (1.4). His points per game, rebounds per game, minutes per game, and field goal percentages all fell near career-low marks as a starter, too.

He, Towns, and the Timberwolves front office faced scrutiny due to the trade, and that will only increase if they don’t improve in their second season together.

Player Arrivals

Shake Milton	PHI 76ers
Jaylen Clark	Drafted (Round 2, Pick 53)
Troy Brown Jr.	LA Lakers
Trevor Keels	NY Knicks
Tyrese Martin	ATL Hawks
Vit Krejci	ATL Hawks
Leonard Miller	Drafted (Round 2, Pick 33)
Daishen Nix	HOU Rockets

Player Departures

Taurean Prince	LA Lakers
Nathan Knight	NY Knicks
Jaylen Nowell	SAC Kings
Austin Rivers	No team

How the Timberwolves' 2023/24 season starts

The Timberwolves begin their season with a tough schedule.

They open the season away against the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 25, before hosting the Miami Heat Oct. 28, visiting the Atlanta Hawks Oct. 30, hosting the defending champion Denver Nuggets Nov. 1, hosting Gobert’s former team the Utah Jazz Nov. 4, and hosting last season’s Eastern Conference runners-up the Boston Celtics Nov. 6.

Expectations for the 2023/24 season

The Timberwolves are expected to have a similar season to last year’s, as their over/under of 43.5 indicates.

Whether or not Gobert and Towns can play at an All-Star level together is the biggest question facing the team and head coach Chris Finch.

Anthony Edwards, coming off his third NBA season where he made his first All-Star game, should keep improving as he enters the season at 22 years old. His teammate in the T-Wolves backcourt, Mike Conley, has plenty of experience but is slowing down at 35 years old.

The T-Wolves should anticipate fighting for one of the final playoff spots in a tough Western Conference.