An delighted player of Timberwolves enter offseason focused on final 2 steps to a NBA title For all the strides the Wolves have made since they drafted this wonderful player, a noticeable gap remains between them and a championship.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For all the strides the Minnesota Timberwolves have made since they drafted Anthony Edwards first overall five years ago, a once-woebegone franchise now playing deep into the playoffs as a habit and not a hiccup, a noticeable gap remains between them and an NBA title.

Reaching the last two Western Conference finals, particularly this spring after a surprise shuffle of the roster right before training camp and the pains of adjustments and injuries throughout the regular season, was a remarkable accomplishment. The last team to appear in two in a row was Golden State in 2018 and 2019.

Edwards will turn 24 in about two months, a superstar only beginning his prime years with a handful of mid-20s role players around him. But the five-game defeat delivered in machine-like fashion by Oklahoma City raised fair questions about whether these Timberwolves can clear two more hurdles to win their first championship.

“Nobody’s going to work harder than me this summer. I’ll tell you that much,” Edwards said after the 30-point loss on Wednesday that ended the series in five games.

The offseason commitment has never been in question for Edwards, whose set career highs in 2024-25 in points per game (27.6), 3-point shooting percentage (39.5) and free-throw shooting percentage (83.7) while playing in 79 of 82 games. He also led the league in made 3-pointers (320). In five seasons, Edwards has missed a total of nine games.

But the Thunder and their NBA-best defense posed a distinct challenge. Edwards shot just 6-for-31 from 3-point range in the four losses and was held under 20 points in three of them. He still found ways to drive to the basket and kick the ball through traffic to teammates in the corner, but the discrepancy in production between his counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was stark. The NBA MVP outscored Edwards 157-115, with a 116-87 edge in field goal attempts and a 51-32 edge in free throw attempts.