The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by superstar Anthony Edwards, are currently immersed in a hotly contested NBA Western Conference Finals series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Entering Game 5 on Wednesday, May 28, the Timberwolves are looking to stay alive as they head back to Oklahoma City down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Western Conference Finals has been another opportunity for ESPN to document one of the most exciting organizations in the NBA, and there’s no shortage of stories to tell. There is the ascension of Edwards to superstar status, the Julius Randle acquisition, and the new, incoming ownership team, headlined by World Series Champion and former ESPN Major League Baseball analyst Alex Rodriguez, just to name a few.
One of the standout content pieces from “All-Access” was NBA Countdown analyst Stephen A. Smith’s walk-and-talk interview with Edwards.
ESPN programmers and producers, in collaboration with their NBA partners, recognized the ‘Wolves were ascending back in February of 2024 when the Timberwolves were selected for “All-Access” – a special content initiative featuring wall-to-wall coverage of the Timberwolves. The initiative culminated with a prime-time game broadcast on February 23, 2024.
“When we selected the Minnesota Timberwolves for ‘All-Access’ back in 2024, we felt it was a great opportunity to chronicle and continue to tell the story of their rise as one of the best teams in the NBA,” said Matt Kenny, ESPN Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions. “Since the ‘All-Access’ initiative, we’ve seen multiple fan studies that have shown increases in popularity for both Anthony Edwards individually, and the Timberwolves as a franchise. As always, our production and content teams have done an incredible job of telling the story of the Timberwolves, the Thunder and the entire NBA Playoffs.”
ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the Timberwolves vs. Thunder series continues with Game 5 on Wednesday, May 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
