Top Five OKC Thunder 2017 Christmas Day matchups

Minnesota Timberwolves

A rematch of last year’s Christmas day game comes in at number three. For the past two years, the T-Wolves have been labeled as the “Up and Coming” team, similar to the way the Thunder were built up through the draft. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the Wolves won just 31 games last year and the team’s young talents like Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVvine hadn’t reached their full potential.

This year, things should be different. Minnesota traded for all-star Jimmy Butler in a beyond lopsided deal. In addition, the team added veteran leadership in signing Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson, and Jamal Crawford. Assuming Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns continue to get better, Minnesota will finally become the team everyone thought they would be by this point.

As you may have noticed from the rankings, Minnesota is actually projected to have a better record than the Thunder. That is most likely a stretch. The team will need time to adjust and learn how to win big games. But if the Timberwolves can figure things out, this has a chance to be a great matchup for both teams.