Minnesota opens its regular season Thursday in Portland, meaning the time for speculation will soon give way to actual, on-court results.

But before that transition takes place, here are a few final stabs at what’s to come for the Timberwolves in the 2025-26 season.

For transparency’s sake, here are the results from last year’s bold predictions column:

No. 1: Timberwolves win 59 games and are the No. 1 seed in the West

Result: Dead before December

No. 2: Minnesota touts a top-5 offense … from January on

Result: No. 5 offense on the nose from Jan. 1 on

No. 3: Donte DiVincenzo is an all-star

Result: Didn’t quite get the votes

No. 4: Rob Dillingham isn’t in the rotation

Result: Dillingham didn’t play outside of injuries and garbage time

No. 5: Timberwolves fall to OKC in West finals

Result: Nostradamus

Now, onto this season’s five bold predictions:

El alero de los Timberwolves de Minnesota Julius Randle reacciona durante la segunda mitad del juego 3 de las finales de la Conferencia Oeste ante el Thunder de Oklahoma City el sábado 24 de mayo del 2025. (AP Foto/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota sports the NBA’s best record a month into the season

There was no massive offseason roster shakeup this season for Minnesota, which returns seven of its top eight players and is backfilling the rest of the rotation with guys who were on the roster.

There should be no major offensive issues to iron out. The Wolves played some of their best basketball of the season at the tail end of the 2024-25 campaign. If continuity is king, there’s no reason Minnesota shouldn’t hit the ground running faster than anyone else in the Association this fall.

But the real reason for this prediction … the schedule. It couldn’t be much more favorable.

Minnesota’s first five games look reasonably competitive on paper, but Portland won’t have Scoot Henderson, Indiana won’t have TJ McConnell and the Lakers — who Minnesota plays twice in its first five contests — will be without LeBron James.

In their first 17 games, Minnesota is scheduled to plays the Kings thrice, along with Phoenix, Charlotte, Utah and Brooklyn. None of those teams are expected to win north of 35 games this season, so 14-3 or even 15-2 don’t seem out of the question. Remember, the 2023-24 Timberwolves were 17-4 through 21 games. The stage is set for something similar this fall.

Julius Randle is an all-star

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) celebrates after a dunk during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)If Minnesota does get off to a fast start, Julius Randle is likely to be a reason why. He played at an all-star level in the first two rounds of the playoffs in the spring.

Those performances have his reputation in a good spot nationally, which is half the battle when it comes to earning these accolades.

If Randle maintains the same productivity — scoring at or above 20 points per game while routinely flirting with triple doubles — while the team wins games at a high clip, he’ll be a strong candidate to nab one of the final all-star spots in the West, much like Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. did a year ago as the Grizzlies stormed out of the gates.

Mike Conley is leaned on more, not less

Conley just turned 38 years old and is coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro, leading many to anticipate further decline and less reliance on the floor general this season. But it’s important to note much of Conley’s poor play came over the first half of the season as he battled through injuries.

The point guard is healthy and benefited from a full offseason of work. Most important, he’s been mentioned by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as a solution for much of what has ailed Minnesota in the past.

Late game struggles? Mix in a few more Conley-Rudy Gobert pick and rolls.

Lack of transition? Get Conley the ball and allow him to throw it up the floor.

Perimeter defense? Conley can play more at the point of attack.

If Conley is indeed capable of being an antidote, Minnesota will have him on the floor more often this season. After averaging south of 25 minutes a game last season, look for the point guard’s playing time to spike back toward the 27-28 minute range.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) reacts during the second half of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, May 26, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Anthony Edwards’ 3-point production dips

Not drastically, but the superstar guard led the NBA in 3-point attempts (811) and makes (320) last season. His step-in triple was one of the game’s ultimate weapons.

That was fresh off an offseason in which Edwards dedicated himself to developing a lethal long-range jumper. He’s always been a player who likes to show off his new set of tricks, and this season, that’s the mid-range shot.

The purpose of that development is ideally for Edwards to create looks in late-game spots and against high-level defenses specifically scheming to take away the long ball — at least in the mind of Finch. Look for Edwards to get to it more frequently than that after a summer dedicated to improving that part of his game.

It’s unlikely his offense will be more efficient for it during the regular season, but perhaps it will pay dividends when Minnesota needs it most come playoff time.

The defense drops again

After touting the League’s best defense (by a long shot) two years ago, Minnesota slipped to sixth in defensive efficiency last season. And while there’s been a verbal emphasis placed on a renewed commitment to that end of the floor, personnel matters.

Gone is Nickeil Alexander-Walker, one of Minnesota’s premier perimeter defenders last season, who went to Atlanta via a sign-and-trade deal this offseason.

Currently slated to take his minutes are Terrence Shannon Jr. — a capable defender, but someone not yet on Alexander-Walker’s level on that end — and Rob Dillingham. That’s a dropoff.

Gobert has aged magnificently to date, but he’s 33 now, and it’s fair to wonder whether he can still be the league’s most dominant interior defender.

Lastly, defense has never been the primary focus of most of Minnesota’s rotational pieces to start the season. Expecting it to be now seems like a pipe dream.

The Wolves won’t be bad defensively by any means — Top 10 still feels like a safe bet — but the once-firm identity continues to creep in the other direction.

Minnesota wins 53 games, falls in Round 2 to Denver

Even in a talented West, the combination of Minnesota’s top-eight talent, Edwards and experience make the Wolves a clear-cut top four team in the conference. A strong start figures to pave a smooth path for the regular season.

But a significant jump is required for the Wolves to be true title contenders, something they were not a year ago. That will have to come in the form of improved team offense, more consistent defensive effort and individual development.

The guess here is they make strides in two of those three categories, but it’s not quite enough to keep pace with Oklahoma City and the Nuggets’ revamped roster.

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Conley’s Corner: Turning the page on heartbreak

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

An Arkansas father accused of killing his daughter’s alleged abuser is running for sheriff while awaiting his murder trial, saying he has seen the failures of law enforcement in his rural county.

Aaron Spencer, an Army veteran and farmer, announced his candidacy this month in Lonoke County a year after authorities say he shot and killed a man who had been out on bond after being charged with numerous sexual offenses against his underage daughter.

Spencer has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond while awaiting a trial set for early next year. His attorneys do not deny that their client shot and killed Michael Fosler, 67, but maintain he acted within the law to protect his child from a predator.

The primary election in Arkansas is next March, with the general election in November 2026. He is not yet officially on the ballot since candidate filings begin next month.

“Many of you know my story,” Spencer said in a video announcing his candidacy. “I’m the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court, and I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures.”

He says he will run as a Republican to replace Lonoke County’s Republican Sheriff John Staley, whose department arrested Spencer in October 2024. Staley, a three-term incumbent, did not return a message seeking comment.

Jennifer Hopper, who chairs the Lonoke County Republican Committee, said most people in the county of 76,000 residents don’t seem to have a problem with Spencer’s candidacy.

“Not from what I’ve seen,” Hopper said, adding that many people believe the shooting was justified.

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On the night of the shooting in October 2024, Spencer woke up to find the girl missing from her bedroom, left in his truck searching for her and found her in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving, court documents show. Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the highway and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man, records show.

Spencer’s attorneys, Erin Cassinelli and Michael Kaiser, maintain their client acted within the law to protect his child from a predator.

“We believe it is clear that Aaron was justified under Arkansas law in taking action to protect his daughter and himself, and we believe that will be apparent at trial,” Cassinelli wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Cassinelli added that she’s not concerned about Spencer’s decision to run for sheriff negatively affecting his trial.

“I am thrilled that the citizens of Lonoke County will have a choice in this election,” she said.

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the case.

Spencer lives outside the city of Cabot, Arkansas, which is about 26 miles northeast of Little Rock.

By FATMA KHALED, Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinians and aid workers are eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, which is the Gaza Strip’s lifeline for food and other aid and its only gateway to the outside world that wasn’t controlled by Israel before the war.

The crossing between Gaza and Egypt will probably reopen Sunday, Israel’s foreign minister said Thursday, though it wasn’t clear if it will be opened for both aid deliveries and the flow of people into and out of the territory.

With much of Gaza turned to rubble and gripped by famine, it needs a massive influx of fuel, food, medicine and tents. United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that he was headed to the crossing and hoped to see the route “full of trucks, as part of a massive surge of aid following the peace deal.”

Here’s why the crossing is so vital.

A ‘lifeline’ for Gaza

Before the war, Rafah bustled with goods and people passing to and from Egypt and Gaza, which is home to roughly 2.3 million Palestinians. Although Gaza has four other border crossings, they are shared with Israel, and only Rafah links the territory with another neighboring country.

After Hamas-led fighters invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, Egypt tightened its restrictions on traffic through the Rafah crossing. After Israel took control of the Gaza side in May 2024 as part of its offensive that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, it closed the crossing except to the occasional medical evacuation.

A reopened Rafah crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel internationally or visit family in Egypt, which is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians. It would also help Gaza’s devastated economy, as Palestinian-made olive oil and other l products are widely sold in Egypt and throughout the Arab world.

Closing the crossing was “breaking the backbone that many families relied on as a lifeline,” said Adel Amr, who works in the transport sector based in the West Bank and has been trying to organize aid shipments into Gaza.

“The crossing is a lifeline for our families in Gaza. This was the only safe route for those who wanted to travel from the Gaza Strip to the outside world,” he said.

What comes next?

On Wednesday, 400 truckloads of aid passed through the Egyptian side on their way into Gaza and headed through a buffer zone toward an Israeli-controlled crossing a few kilometers (miles) away. It’s unclear, though, if the aid made it through the Israeli security inspection and to those who desperately need it, though the World Food Program said some of its trucks have been getting through.

The Gaza side of the Rafah crossing was heavily damaged during the war, and it’s unknown if repairs are underway. Once it does reopen — perhaps as early as Sunday — Israel has agreed to stick to the humanitarian terms put in place for a January 2025 ceasefire, including allowing a certain number of truckloads of aid per day into Gaza.

With the ceasefire deal calling for Hamas to have no role in running Gaza, it’s unclear who will operate the territory’s side of the Rafah crossing once the war ends.

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Whoever it is, the crossing “should be run completely by Palestinians,” with some help from the U.N. or the European Union, said Sami al-Arian, a public affairs professor at Istanbul Zaim University who runs the Center for Islam and Global Affairs.

The EU said this week that it is ready to redeploy a longstanding humanitarian mission to the Rafah crossing if and when it is safe to do so.

“This is a Palestinian town — a Palestinian city. And Palestinians should mainly comprise the majority of the people coming in and out (of Rafah),” al-Arian said, adding that he thinks Israel should have “no veto power” over the entry of aid and goods and the flow of Palestinians through the crossing.

Associated Press reporters Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Andrew said Friday he is giving up his royal title of the Duke of York after his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines.

The younger brother of King Charles III said he and the royal family had decided “the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family,” Prince Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.

It comes as excerpts have been published of an upcoming posthumous memoir from Virginia Giufffre, who has alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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