16. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves had a pretty inconsistent 2022-23. However, they did win seven of their last 10 games to make the Play-In Tournament before qualifying for the postseason as the 8th seed in the Western Conference. There’s also an argument to make that the Wolves are actually the team that presented some of the biggest issues for the Denver Nuggets in the postseason.
Anthony Edwards is only getting better and after a great summer with USA Basketball, there’s an expectation that he’s one of the next superstars that’s going to emerge over the next couple of seasons. As long as he’s in Minnesota, the Wolves are always going to have a shot. The big question for the Wolves is whether or not Edwards has a good enough of a supporting cast for this team to make noise in the West.
It’ll be interesting to see how well this team is able to gel this season. Last year, the duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert struggled to start the season. If they can avoid that, a top 6 finish in the West isn’t out of the question for the Wolves.