Where There’s Thunder, There’s Wolves
Early on in this NBA season the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves have come out guns blazing in a quest to achieve the success that has eluded their respective franchises.
When you look at both teams, they are the same, but different. The Thunder are led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a young superstar who has made his name by being a shifty, elite scorer who has a knack for getting to the free-throw line. The Timberwolves on the other hand are led by a rugged, hardened Anthony Edwards. An elite two-way guard who has the mentality of the elite Shooting Guards before him (MJ, Kobe, T-Mac, etc.)
The Thunder, who are currently the second seed in the west only behind Minnesota, are a young team with an even brighter future. The core of SGA (30.4 PPG), Jalen Williams (17.4 PPG), and the return of rookie phenom Chet Holmgren (17.0 PPG) have proven to be a tough team to beat so far. With convincing wins over teams like the Mavericks and Warriors, the Thunder look ready to take that next step in a rebuilding process that hasn’t taken them long at all.
In the land of 10,000 Lakes, the Timberwolves took the path less traveled and it’s shown in their moves. Trading for 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert, and pairing him with Karl-Anthony Towns the Wolves were looking to solidify their relatively young core with a veteran-heavy presence that includes the likes of Point Guard Mike Conley and Small Forward Kyle Anderson. As the current number one seed, Anthony Edwards (24.4 PPG) is a bonafide superstar looking to take over in the worst way. With some playoff experience under his belt, the Wolves are looking to expand on last season’s success with a finals berth.
Of course, it’s early in the season, but as of right now, both teams are red hot and looking to keep this pace as we get closer to 2024. We’re definitely in a new era of NBA basketball, and Both Shai and Ant are two players leading this charge.
