Jim Souhan: Popular criticisms of the Wolves may be true. They're also overblown.

Jim Souhan, Star Tribune on Feb 12, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — In the 1950s, Sports Illustrated, then the crown jewel of sports journalism, hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a story about a racehorse that had leapt a fence.

Vonnegut would go on to become a famous author, and the publication was looking for a writerly view of this event. Deep thinking was in the offing.

After staring at a blank piece of paper all morning, Vonnegut finally began typing, then left in a huff, never to return.

What he produced was one sentence: “The horse jumped over the [doggone] fence!”

Which is a reminder of an analytical philosophy I have adopted: Just because something interesting happened doesn’t mean it’s important.

Timberwolves fans have wailed and writhed through this season, complaining about the coach, the star, the supporting cast, the bench, the bad losses, the seeming lethargy of a team with championship aspirations. Last week, center Rudy Gobert called on coach Chris Finch to bench stars (probably meaning Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle) when they don’t play hard on defense.

And where are the Timberwolves at the All-Star break?

Three games better, at 34-22, than they were last year at this time. And last year’s team made it to the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive season.

Gobert’s comments so perfectly dovetailed with popular opinion that they seemed meaningful. They weren’t.

The Wolves closed the pre-break portion of the schedule with two of their better offensive performances of the season, while newcomer Ayo Dosunmu looks like an ideal fit with his energy, shooting and ability to create fast breaks.

The Wolves’ best players are all healthy, they’ll be getting Terrence Shannon Jr. back after the break, and Bones Hyland has become a valuable bench player. Edwards is playing at a near-MVP level, and the ball movement demonstrated in the last two games is the best indicator you can get that there are no meaningful hard feelings among the players.

President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly fixed this team’s biggest problems — the lack of depth and lead ball handlers — by trading away the one notable mistake of his tenure, Rob Dillingham, for Dosunmu, who is five times the player Dillingham is.

I like this team much more than I did before the deadline, and much more than I did at the beginning of the regular season, when it seemed that Dillingham was going to be a key to success.

Does that mean the Wolves are going to win a title? Probably not. Oklahoma City remains the class of the league, and if Victor Wembanyama is ready to assert himself as the most unique great player in recent NBA history, the Spurs may be the Thunder’s primary challenger.

If your only standard is a title, or perceived perfection, you’re never going to fully appreciate what this group has accomplished.

Most of the popular criticisms of the Wolves are true. They’re also overblown.

Could Finch play his young players more? Sure. He has instead emphasized getting his top seven or eight players accustomed to playing together. It’s fun to dream of a Dillingham or Joan Beringer becoming a major factor on this team, but I tend to defer to the people who work with these players every day in practice.

Had Finch played Dillingham more when he was here, it’s possible that Dillingham would have improved. It’s also possible the Wolves would have a losing record. Dillingham isn’t ready and may never be.

Any time you want a reality check on your local NBA team, scroll to the right of the expanded standings. Under the heading “L10″ is listed each team’s record in its last 10 games.

So the Wolves have been playing without enough energy, their center is criticizing their coach and stars, and everyone’s frustrated and … over their last 10 games, the Wolves are 7-3. That’s the second-best record in the West over that span. Only San Antonio, with Wembanyama playing like a superhero cartoon character, is better. And the Spurs are just one game better, at 8-2.

An important reminder: This is the best regime in Timberwolves history. Finch is the most accomplished coach in franchise history. After years of development, Edwards is playing like an MVP. Randle is on a tear. Jaden McDaniels is the best he’s ever been. Gobert might be the defensive player of the year and has dramatically improved his offensive efficiency.

Naz Reid shook off an early-season slump to return to being one of the NBA’s best sixth men. Hyland is playing well. Dosunmu was an excellent acquisition. And the Wolves are 1.5 games out of the third seed.

Matchups are more important than seedings and home-court advantage, so we don’t even know which seed is optimal.

This, we know: The Wolves usually play their best after the All-Star break.

If the best is yet to come, this team could find itself back in the Western Conference finals, with a fighting chance to advance to the first NBA Finals in franchise history.