The Minnesota Timberwolves announced on Wednesday that they have rescheduled their preseason game against the Denver Nuggets from Oct. 18 to Oct. 17 due to a conflict with a potential WNBA Finals game. The Minnesota Lynx could be in line to host Game 4 of the Finals against the New York Liberty on Oct. 18.
The game between the Timberwolves and Nuggets, which is the preseason finale for both clubs, will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 17. There will be no national broadcast for the rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, which the Timberwolves won in seven games.
The Timberwolves’ sister franchise, the Lynx, advanced to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017 with a Game 5 win over the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals on Tuesday. They are in search of a fifth championship, which would be the most by any team in WNBA history. As the lower seed, the Lynx will host Game 3, and potentially Game 4, in the best-of-five series as long as it is not a sweep.
This has been a historic season for the Lynx, who reached the 30-win mark for the first time in franchise history. Star forward Napheesa Collier finished as runner-up for MVP, won Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Defensive First Team, while Alanna Smith made the All-Defensive Second Team and Cheryl Reeve was named Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.
During the regular season they finished fourth in the league in offensive rating (102.8), second in defensive rating (94.8), third in net rating (plus-8.0), first in 3-point percentage (38.0) and first in assist percentage (76.4). While they don’t have the overall talent that the Liberty boast, they have a true collective led by perhaps best player in the series in Collier.
Already, Collier has tied the postseason scoring record with 42 points in the team’s Game 2 win over the Phoenix Mercury, and during the semifinals she became the first player ever to record three consecutive games of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs. Furthermore, her 27.1 points per game are the most by a player entering the Finals since Lynx legend Maya Moore in 2015.
Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals is set for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday at Barclays Center.
