It’s expected to be a tight matchup, but the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to prevail in their NBA Western Conference First Round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves that starts Saturday.
But someone who wore Purple and Gold for 13 years on his way to the Hall of Fame is concerned about the pairing.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson posted this on Thursday:
Johnson knows the NBA game as well as anyone. He was a five-time NBA champion, 10-time all-NBA point guard and 12-time All-Star. And he’s worried about Minnesota and its young superstar, Anthony Edwards.
Earlier this week, Edwards shared his thoughts on the third-seeded Lakers being favored the sixth-seeded Wolves.
"I just love it. It's dope," Edwards said on cbssports.com. "I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win. That's how it's supposed to be. They don't want the Timberwolves to win. I get it."
The Timberwolves struggled much of the season and missing the playoffs wasn’t out of the question, but they won eight of their last nine games to earn the No. 6 seed and avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Now come the Lakers and their twin superstars, LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Edwards saw Doncic as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 postseason. It will be his first time facing James in the playoffs.
"It means a lot to matchup against him, man," Edwards said. "Probably goes down as the greatest player to ever play basketball. Trying to get putting him out of the playoffs under my belt is going to be a tough one, but it's going to be a fun road."
Series schedule
Here’s the schedule for the Western Conference First Round series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers.
Game 1: Saturday, April 19 at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Game 2: Tuesday, April 22 at Los Angeles, 9 p.m., TNT, truTV
Game 3: Friday, April 25 at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 4: Sunday, April 27 at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Game 5: If necessary. Wednesday, April 30 at Los Angeles, TBD
Game 6: If necessary. Friday, May 2 at Minnesota, TBD
Game 7: If necessary. Sunday, May 4 at Los Angeles, TBD
Regular-season meetings
The Timberwolves and Lakers split their four regular-season meetings during the 2024-25 season, with the home team winning each game.
10-22-24: Los Angeles Lakers 110, Minnesota Timberolves 103
12-02-24: Minnesota Timberwolves 109, Los Angeles Lakers 80
12-13-24: Minnesota Timberwolves 97, Los Angeles Lakers 87
02-27-25: Los Angeles Lakers 111, Minnesota Timberwolves 102
Postseason matchups
The Timberwolves and Lakers have met in postseason play three previous times, twice in a series and once in a Play-In Game.
2003 First Round: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
2004 Conference Finals: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
2023 Play-In Game: Los Angeles Lakers 108, Minnesota Timberwolves 102 (OT)
Minnesota Timberwolves playoff history
Here is a year-by-year rundown of the Minnesota Timberwolves playoff history.
1990
Missed playoffs
1991
Missed playoffs
1992
Missed playoffs
1993
Missed playoffs
1994
Missed playoffs
1995
Missed playoffs
1996
Missed playoffs
1997
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Houston Rockets 3-0
1998
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Seattle SuperSonics 3-2
1999
Western Conference First Round: Lost to San Antonio Spurs 3-1
2000
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Portland Trail Blazers 3-1
2001
Western Conference First Round: Lost to San Antonio Spurs 3-1
2002
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Dallas Mavericks 3-0
2003
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
2004
Western Conference First Round: Defeated Denver Nuggets 4-1
Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated Sacramento Kings 4-3
Western Conference Finals: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
2005
Missed playoffs
2006
Missed playoffs
2007
Missed playoffs
2008
Missed playoffs
2009
Missed playoffs
2010
Missed playoffs
2011
Missed playoffs
2012
Missed playoffs
2013
Missed playoffs
2014
Missed playoffs
2015
Missed playoffs
2016
Missed playoffs
2017
Missed playoffs
2018
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Houston Rockets 4-1
2019
Missed playoffs
2020
Missed playoffs
2021
Missed playoffs
2022
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Memphis Grizzlies 4-2
2023
Western Conference Play-In Game: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 108-102 (OT)
Western Conference Play-In Game: Defeated Oklahoma City Thunder 120-95
Western Conference First Round: Lost to Denver Nuggets 4-1
2024
Western Conference First Round: Defeated Phoenix Suns 4-0
Western Conference Semifinals: Defeated Denver Nuggets 4-3
Western Conference Finals: Lost to Dallas Mavericks 4-1
Minneapolis Lakers playoff history
The Lakers franchise started in Minneapolis. Here is the playoff history of the Minneapolis Lakers,
1949
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Chicago Stags 2-0
Western Division Finals: Defeated Rochester Royals 2-0
BAA Finals: Defeated Washington Capitols 4-2
1950
Playoff Tiebreaker: Defeated Rochester Royals 78-76
Central Division Semifinals: Defeated Chicago Stags 2-0
Central Division Finals: Defeated Fort Wayne Pistons 2-0
Western Division Finals: Defeated Anderson Packers 2-0
NBA Finals: Defeated Syracuse Nationals 4-2
1951
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Indianapolis Olympians 2-1
Western Division Finals: Lost to Rochester Royals 3-1
1952
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Indianapolis Olympians 2-0
Western Division Finals: Defeated Rochester Royals 3-1
NBA Finals: Defeated New York Knicks 4-3
1953
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Indianapolis Olympians 2-0
Western Division Finals: Defeated Fort Wayne Pistons 3-2
NBA Finals: Defeated New York Knicks 4-1
1954
Play-In Games: Defeated Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons
Western Division Finals: Defeated Rochester Royals 2-1
NBA Finals: Defeated Syracuse Nationals 4-3
1955
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Rochester Royals 2-1
Western Division Finals: Lost to Fort Wayne Pistons 3-1
1956
Playoff Tiebreaker: Defeated St. Louis Hawks 103-97
Western Division Semifinals: Lost to St. Louis Hawks 2-1
1957
Playoff Tiebreaker: Lost to St. Louis Hawks 114-111 (OT)
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Fort Wayne Pistons 2-0
Western Division Finals: Lost to St. Louis Hawks 3-0
1958
Missed playoffs
1959
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Detroit Pistons 2-1
Western Division Finals: Defeated St. Louis Hawks 4-2
NBA Finals: Lost to Boston Celtics 4-0
1960
Western Division Semifinals: Defeated Detroit Pistons 2-0
Western Division Finals: Lost to St. Louis Hawks 4-3
Scoring leaders
Most points in playoff games
Timberwolves
Kevin Garnett 1049
Anthony Edwards 750
Karl-Anthony Towns 603
Wally Szcerbiak 369
Latrell Sprewell 357
Sam Casell 265
Rudy Gobert 256
Jaden McDaniels 251
Mike Conley 234
Anthony Peeler 228
Lakers
Kobe Bryant 5640
Jerry West 4457
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 4070
Magic Johnson 3701
Elgin Baylor 3623
Shaquille O’Neal 3383
James Worthy 3022
Byron Scott 2223
George Mikan 1680
Games played
The leaders in playoff games in NBA history.
LeBron James 287
Derek Fisher 259
Tim Duncan 251
Robert Horry 244
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
Tony Parker 226
Kobe Bryant 226
Manu Ginobili 218
Shaquille O’Neal 216
Scottie Pippen 208
Series wins
The leaders in playoff series wins in NBA history.
LeBron James 41
Derek Fisher 40
Robert Horry 39
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 37
Tim Duncan 35
Scott Pippen 33
Kobe Bryant 33
Shaquille O’Neal 32
Magic Johnson 32
Tony Parker 30
Michael Jordan 30
