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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
Minnesota never stood a chance in the conference finals, with Oklahoma City enjoying playing the steamroller against Rudy Gobert and co. The French center was particularly clear about his opponents.
This year wasn’t the one either… Already crushed in the conference finals last season by the Mavericks, the Timberwolves suffered the same fate in 2024-25 against the Thunder. A brutal end to a campaign full of twists and turns, Chris Finch’s men having to digest the unexpected departure of Karl-Anthony Towns before gaining momentum a few weeks before the playoffs.
Now they’re on vacation while their tormentors will fight for the title in the Finals. This is the first time Oklahoma City has returned to this stage of the competition since 2011-12. At the time, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden were still there… But the franchise has patiently rebuilt itself after the departure of the three superstars. Rudy Gobert did not fail to praise this after the elimination:
Rudy Gobert praises Thunder’s progress
OKC really impressed me. Their cohesion, their consistency… What they’ve done this season, they’ve actually been doing for the past two years. Last year, they lost to Dallas, but they’re a tight-knit group, you can see it. And above all, they’re focused, they’re building champion habits. I think that’s where we need to improve.
We have the talent to be champions, there’s no doubt about it. But now we need to develop those champion habits, that champion mentality. That’s what can really take us to the next level. Of course, there are plenty of other things we could point to, dozens of them. But these are things we all have control over: as a team, as individuals, as an organization.
And what I saw from OKC this year was exactly that: they were connected all season, they did the little things, every night. It’s not about making your shots every night, or being great every game. You’re going to have ups and downs. But they stayed together, and they always worked on the details.
There’s no doubt for Gobzilla that the Thunder is a source of inspiration for Minnesota. Its project has had more time to develop, and today, Mark Daigneault’s squad is a model of team spirit and determination. It remains to be seen whether the four-time DPOY will have the opportunity to witness the same evolution within his own franchise, with some already considering his departure.
