NBA Schedule 2016: Minnesota Timberwolves to play on Christmas Day
The NBA schedule officially comes out Thursday afternoon but one report has the Minnesota Timberwolves playing in a marquee game this season.
The NBA schedule release is set to take place later today, but some of the marquee games on the schedule have already begun to be leaked. The biggest day of every NBA season is Christmas Day, and a new team will reportedly find itself on the schedule this year.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are no stranger to Christmas Day games, and will be hosting one again even without Kevin Durant. The surprise comes with the fact they will be hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Dylan Buckingham of Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate.
The Timberwolves finished 2015 with a record of 29-53, but the addition of Tom Thibodeau as head coach, along with the core of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Kris Dunn, is enough to get the league excited about this team.
The Timberwolves have not even been to the playoffs since the 2003-04 season when Kevin Garnett led his team to the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. This was the eighth straight year the team made the postseason, and was the first time the team advanced beyond the first round in franchise history. Unfortunately, the team has not been back to the playoffs since.
Source: Kevin Durant will make his first return to OKC February 11th. Also, the Thunder host Minnesota on Christmas Day. #Thunderschedule
— Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) August 11, 2016
In the midst of over a decade-long rebuild, this year may be the year the Timberwolves finally make it back to the playoffs, with the Christmas Day game being a showcase for the young talent up north.
The matchup against the Thunder should be a great game as Russell Westbrook and his teammates try to prove they are still a legitimate contender in the Western Conference without former local hero Kevin Durant, whose Golden State Warriors will be playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA Finals rematch on Christmas Day.