After a heartbreaking exit last season, “The moment you’ve all been waiting for…” is what the Minnesota Timberwolves wrote, along with a 2:57-minute video, to announce their schedule for the 2025-26 NBA season. As CBS Sports reporter Jasmyn Wimbish highlighted, “You can’t ignore back-to-back Western Conference finals appearances, even if the Timberwolves did very little this summer to ensure they could get back there for a third consecutive time”. Therefore, it is no surprise that the team will see an increase in their number of nationally televised games from last year, along with some other interesting changes.

Without any further ado, let us explore these changes by ourselves.

What are the Takeaways from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2025-26 Schedule?

Minnesota Timberwolves get 28 Nationally Televised Games, including 7 on ESPN* 

The number of Nationally Televised Games that the Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to secure for themselves allows them to be tied with Kevin Durant’s new home, Houston, for the second-most this season. The Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the New York Knicks hold the top spot with 34 games!

The televised schedule will be adjusted by the NBA’s new national media rights deal, after having taken the rights back from TNT last year. According to ‘For The Win’ reporter Bryan Kalbrosky, 17 of the matchups will be shown on Cable, both ESPN and Prime Video will feature 7 each*, NBC will show 6, and both ABC and Peacock will show 4. This is an upgrade from the 2024-25 season, when the Timberwolves only had 25 Nationally Televised Games. This schedule shows that Adam Silver and co are willing to give Anthony Edwards and Co. another chance. After all, the Timberwolves came under attack for low viewership numbers during their playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Game 1 generated just 5.36 million viewers, and Game 2 only 5.16 million, which was reportedly the least-watched Western Conference finals game since 2013. Despite that, the team boasts Anthony Edwards, aka the player presumed to be on the faces of the league in the coming years. As ‘Goal’ reported, “it’s a no-brainer to showcase him on the big stage as often as possible. The NBA knows a marketable face when it sees one”. This is why the Indiana Pacers, despite making it to the NBA Finals, get only 9 televised games. Their marketable force, Tyrese Haliburton, will be out with an injury.

• Timberwolves games to watch out for

The Timberwolves will open their 2025-26 regular season on October 22nd in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The team’s home opener will be against the Indiana Pacers on October 26th at the Target Center. The Timberwolves have won nine straight home openers, and 12 of their last 13 since the 2013-14 season. Going into the game, the Timberwolves will have an advantage since Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals, is reportedly not set to be present for the early part of the 2025-26 season.

The Timberwolves will play on Christmas Day for the 2nd straight season, and 4th time in franchise history. They’ll be going up against the Denver Nuggets, the team against whom Anthony Edwards and co have won 7 of their last 10 games, with 6 of the wins coming consecutively.

• Back-to-back games

For the 2025-26 season, the Timberwolves are set to play 13 back-to-back games, 5 of which will be home-home, 6 away-way, and the remaining 2 away-home. Similar to their last year’s record, except for a reduction from the previous season, when Minnesota played 14 back-to-backs. On top of that, the Timberwolves have four sets of games where they face the same opponent consecutive times. The team will be facing the New Orleans Pelicans on December 2nd and 4th, the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 8th and 10th, the Golden State Warriors on January 24th and 26th, and the Memphis Grizzlies on January 31st and February 2nd.

• March and April will be the toughest months

‘Locked on Wolves’ host Ben Beecken named March and April as the toughest months for the Minnesota Timberwolves, based on their schedule. After all, in March, the team will go up against the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

While the Timberwolves have proven to be quite effective against the Grizzlies and Nuggets in the past, Nikola Jokic’s squad added some additional depth in the offseason. Mile High Sports reported their group of 14 players (plus two-ways) to be “perhaps their best in franchise history”. Add the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers, who were humiliated in the playoffs, will be on a revenge spree. Not only have the Lakers solved their center issue, but they have a thin and fit Luka Doncic now. Plus, do we even need to talk about the Oklahoma City Thunder? The defending champions are looking to defend their title, and the team against whom the Timberwolves lost in 6 of their last 10 matchups.

For April, the Timberwolves face the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Detroit Pistons.

• Trouble awaits at the NBA Cup

Ben Beecken also highlighted that, along with the tough 2 months, things won’t be looking so good for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the NBA cup either. On November 7th, Anthony Edwards and co will face the Utah Jazz. This will be followed by a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on November 14th. A week later, on November 21st, the Timberwolves will face the Phoenix Suns and then, on November 26th, the squad will face, wait for it, the Oklahoma City Thunder. We already know that OKC will severely hamper the chances of the Timberwolves to secure their first-ever NBA title. As for the Kings, they have won 3 of their last 5 games against the Timberwolves. Having pushed the pace earlier this year under Doug Christie, they will test Minnesota’s ability to defend.

Though the Phoenix Suns have lost 8 out of their last 10 games against the Timberwolves, the team is now improved with the acquisitions of Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and the draft rights to Khaman Maluach. This new roster will put the team to the test right from the start, and at a stage where every win matters.

What are your thoughts on the Timberwolves’ 2025-26 NBA season schedule? Let us know in the comments section down below.