In a recent interview with MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME (YouTube link), Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell spoke about who he thinks will represent the Western Conference for the 2025 NBA Finals. This past season saw the Dallas Mavericks make it out of the West. Ultimately, they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the finals. Despite adding four-time champion Klay Thompson to the team, Mitchell does not expect the Mavericks to make it back next year. Instead, he believes it will either be the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, Mitchell emphasized that he ultimately thinks it will be Minnesota in the NBA Finals next year.
“I would say it’s probably gon’ be Minnesota or OKC. I think Minnesota, they some dogs. I think they figured it out too about themselves. They made some trades and made some different acquisitions and all that, but they figured it out. OKC adding Alex Caruso, I don’t think people really understand what that does for that lineup. You’ve already got [Cason] Wallace over there, you’ve got Lu Dort, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]’s not a bad defender himself. You add Alex Caruso to that lineup.”
The Timberwolves and Thunder both had fantastic campaigns last season. However, neither team made it to the NBA Finals. Minnesota came close, advancing to their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2004. However, they lost to the Mavericks in five games. As for the Thunder, they ended as the No. 1 seed last season before also losing to Dallas in the second round.
Donovan Mitchell Predicts West Representative for 2025 Finals
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota has never made the NBA Finals in franchise history. However, after last season, it is clear they have what it takes to get there at some point. Led by a core of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves are elite on both sides of the court and should remain in title contention for a while.
After losing to the Mavericks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Edwards expressed his confidence that he and the team will “be back” in the conference finals.
“It’s a lot of our guys’ first time being in this light, especially me. It’s my first time,” Edwards said. “But we’ll be ready, man. We’ll be all right. First time. Took a loss. Congratulations to the Mavericks. But we’ll be back. We’ll be all right.”
Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City last made an NBA Finals appearance in 2012 but lost to the Miami Heat in five games. At the time, the team was led by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. However, the Thunder traded Harden to the Houston Rockets later that year. Oklahoma City eventually made it back to the Western Conference Finals in 2014 and 2016, but they lost both series.
Last season, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was the Thunder’s best since the 2013-14 season when they won 59 games and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. Despite their early playoff elimination, the Thunder are primed to be contenders for a long time. This is especially true after their offseason additions of Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Last Word on Donovan Mitchell’s Prediction
There are plenty of great teams in the Western Conference. However, the Timberwolves and Thunder are certainly two of the best teams in the conference. Both teams are in a great position to make it to the NBA Finals next year.
