Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves met in the play-in tournament to determine which would get the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Now, they’ll face off for a trip to the NBA Finals.

Minnesota won that play-in game in 2023, but that was in Minneapolis. Oklahoma City has homecourt in this series and will host Game 1 of the Western Conference finals today.

The Thunder earned the top seed in the playoffs after posting a franchise-best 68-14 record in the regular season. Minnesota is seeded sixth, but the Timberwolves closed the regular season by winning 17 of 21 games. The teams are 2-2 against each other this season, with each claiming a win on the other’s home floor.

This is Oklahoma City’s first trip to the conference finals since 2016. The Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals last season and lost to the Dallas Mavericks.

“Certainly last year’s experience helps a ton, and that’s what really this is all about — layering these experiences on top of each other so you can draw from them time and again and gain confidence,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.

The ascent of both teams has coincided with the rise of their superstars — Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points in a Game 7 victory over the Nuggets in the conference semifinals and has averaged 29.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists in the playoffs. Edwards is averaging 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the postseason.

Neither player has reached the NBA Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander said Oklahoma City’s approach won’t change just because the team has reached new ground.

“Just trying to be where our feet are in the moment, see what’s in front of us and try to attack it, come out on the right end of it,” he said. “I think that’s why we’ve gotten this far in the season, and we’re going to continue to do so.”

The NBA has fined Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams $25,000 for wearing clothing with profane language during a postgame media session, the league announced.

Williams’ actions came Sunday after the Thunder’s 125-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their conference semifinals playoff series. The former Santa Clara star scored 24 points to help the Thunder advance to the Western Conference finals. Williams was a first-time All-Star this season. He averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the regular season.

Pro wrestling star Randy Orton has recognized Edwards as the “Legend killer” for sending some of the league’s royalty packing early the past two years.

Orton, who has long had the gimmick in World Wrestling Entertainment for defeating and sometimes embarrassing older stars, acknowledged Edwards on a post that has garnered more than 11 million views on X. In a cartoon of the two, Orton is handing Edwards a gold chain with a large pendant shaped into the words “Legend killer.”

Edwards has earned the recognition. Last year, his Timberwolves knocked out Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns in the first round and Denver’s Nikola Jokic in the second. This year, it’s been Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the first round and Golden State’s Stephen Curry in the second.

Michael Malone, who was fired by the Denver Nuggets with three games remaining in the regular season, will join ESPN for its coverage of the Western Conference finals.

The series matches Minnesota against Oklahoma City, which eliminated Malone’s former team in seven games in the second round.

Malone led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in 2023 and is the franchise’s career leader in wins. But they made the surprising decision to part ways with him and general manager Calvin Booth in the final week of the regular season.

David Adelman finished the season as Denver’s coach.

Gilgeous-Alexander will have to face Minnesota’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, his cousin and teammate on the Canadian national team.

“If you know how close we are, he’s literally like my second brother,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s been through every stage of life with me, picking up a basketball to going to prep school to making the NBA. Like we’ve gone through every situation together. For us, for both of us to be where we are is special. To compete against each other even more special. But I am trying to take his head off for sure.”