All season long, the San Antonio Spurs showed they were a team far ahead of everyone else’s timeline — they were a contender now, not in a year or three. San Antonio won 62 games and was the No. 2 seed in the West.
All season long, Minnesota almost looked bored. We’d see flashes of the team that made it to two straight Western Conference Finals, but we’d see ugly losses (or just flat games) on other nights. It looked like a team waiting for the games to get serious. When the games did get serious in the first round of the playoffs, the Timberwolves showed not just their talent but real heart to overcome injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, and they beat the Nuggets.
Can Minnesota repeat that formula, or is San Antonio just too deep and too good? Here’s what you need to know heading into this Western Conference Semifinals matchup.
When does the Timberwolves vs. Spurs begin?
Game 1 between Minnesota and San Antonio is on Monday, May 4, and you can watch it on Peacock. The series continues every other day until Game 6, there are a couple days off before that game.
Minnesota vs. San Antonio Playoffs Schedule 2026
All times are Eastern (* = if necessary).
Game 1: Monday, May 4 (9:30 ET, Peacock/NBCSN)
Game 2: Wednesday, May 6 (9:30 ET, ESPN)
Game 3: Friday, May 8 (9:30 ET, Prime Video)
Game 4: Sunday, May 10 (7:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
Game 5: May 12* (TBD)
Game 6: May 15* (TBD)
Game 7: May 17* (TBD)
Player to watch: Rudy Gobert
Victor Wembanyama considers Rudy Gobert, a fellow French center, a mentor.
“He’s played a huge role in my journey, has been a role model, has inspired me in so many ways that should actually inspire more people, especially when it comes to the care given to the body, which is an example for all big men,” Wembanyama said this week.
However, this is Wembanyama we’re talking about, so he wants more information and details than anyone else.
“A few weeks ago he asked me what kind of filter I had in my house for water,” Gobert said. “It just tells you how his mind is. I try to talk to the young guys here about the food they eat and stuff like that. But I don’t get those type of questions.”
Gobert was the reason the Timberwolves upset the Nuggets in the first round, thanks to his spectacular defense on Nikola Jokic. It’s not that the three-time MVP didn’t get his, but he had to work for every bucket, every inch of court, and it wore him down. It was the key to the series.
Now Gobert has to find a way to be physical and do the same thing to Wembanyama, but it may not be as easy. In part because this will not be a straight matchup — Gobert will not be one Wembanyama much of the time (look for him to be on Stephon Castle, that is what Portland did with its big Donovan Clingan).
Gobert on Wemby is tough because Wemby’s game is more fluid, he’s got better handles and a better 3-point shot, and his role in the San Antonio offense, while central, is not the same. The Nuggets play through Jokic, that’s the case in San Antonio, where Wembanyama can be off the ball and they use his gravity as a shooter to create driving lanes.
Gobert will get his time on Wembanyama (as will Julius Randle), and he needs to be physical and wear his mentee down. It’s just a lot easier said than done.
Keys to watch for in Minnesota vs. San Antonio
If/When does Anthony Edwards return?
Anthony Edwards “has been cleared for on-court basketball activities” after missing just two games due to a knee hyperextension and bone bruise. He is listed as questionable for Game 1. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier in the day that there is some hope he could be back for “potentially Game 3 or Game 4 at the earliest,” but he may be on a faster track than that.
The next question: When Edwards does return, what version of him do we see? 80%? 90%?
Edwards dropped 55 points on the Spurs in a matchup this season (a game San Antonio still won), which leads into the next issue…
How can Minnesota score enough to win?
Jaden McDaniels may want to hold back from saying the Spurs are “all bad defenders,” as he did when talking about the Nuggets. San Antonio is an entirely different thing.
It’s not just Wembanyama protecting the rim, although he is the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year who completely changes the geometry of the court. It’s that he is surrounded by quality defenders on the perimeter: Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, De’Aaron Fox, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and on down the list, the Spurs don’t roll out a bad defender.
A fully healthy Timberwolves team with Edwards driving and creating could put up points on the Spurs and make this a series, although they will miss DiVincenzo knocking down 3-pointers and will need other shooters to step up. As it is now, Minnesota needs a massive series from Julius Randle plus some other guys to step up — Ayo Dosunmu, if he’s healthy.
Minnesota also must rely on its defense, which was fantastic against the Nuggets, holding them to 13 points below their league-leading regular-season average. San Antonio has more shot creators and ball handlers, but Minnesota has a great defense and experience. Is that enough?
Prediction: Spurs in 5. Or 7.
The Edwards injury makes this a challenging prediction. San Antonio is just a tougher matchup for Minnesota than Denver, it’s going to be a lot harder to score in the paint. That said, if Edwards is back in the first couple of games and close to his All-NBA level, he pushes this series to seven games. But I’ll still take the Spurs.
However, without him to at least start the series — and we don’t know what version of Edwards we get if and when he does return — it just changes the equation. So it feels like Spurs in five is more likely.
