Stylistically, the Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns couldn’t be much more different.

The Timberwolves have built a brand centered on big ball. They use their size and length to suffocate you, particularly on defense.

The Suns are flush with star wings, each of whom can create his own shot at the snap of his fingers.

Aesthetically, nothing about the two teams is really the same.

Yet the stories are somewhat similar. Both franchises were on promising tracks following the 2021-22 season. The Timberwolves broke through with a young, upstart squad to get into the playoffs and give the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies a true scare in Round 1.

Phoenix posted the best record in the NBA that season, only to have illness and Luka Doncic send the Suns home in an embarrassing Game 7 defeat in the West semifinals.

Then, both franchises decided to push in chips. For Minnesota, that meant dealing an array of players and picks to Utah for center Rudy Gobert.

Phoenix dealt a similar haul at the ensuing trade deadline for Kevin Durant.

Both teams did so to enhance their chances to compete for a championship in the coming years. The early results for either were not good. The Timberwolves had to survive the play-in just to get into last season’s playoffs, where they suffered a quick exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets bounced the Suns with relative ease in the following round.

But both moves now appear to be paying off for both teams. Gobert is at the center of Minnesota’s historically good defense. Durant leads Phoenix’s three-headed monster of scoring weapons. Both teams are legitimate threats to win the West.

Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on between teammates Karl-Anthony Towns #32 and Rudy Gobert #27 during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 20, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

But only one will get out of the first round, which starts Saturday at Target Center. And Phoenix, the No. 6 seed, is favored to do so. Part of the reason for that is because the Suns beat the Timberwolves in all three regular-season meetings.

But another big reason is because Phoenix has Durant and Devin Booker. Durant has won multiple NBA titles with various teams, while Booker was the best player on a squad that won the West three years ago. They have playoff reputations.

And a couple of the best players on the Wolves’ roster do not.

That’s not speaking on Anthony Edwards, who has thoroughly impressed in his two trips to the playoffs to date. He was brilliant even in defeat against Memphis and Denver. Edwards is known as a big-game hunter.

But Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns are viewed in a dissimilar light. That’s why when the Timberwolves dealt for Gobert, basketball fans and analysts around the country threw up their arms and made jokes. Those two? Together?

Minnesota has no doubt felt a sense of vindication this season as when those two have been in the lineup together, the Wolves have gone 41-19. Critics attempting to tear down the Twin Towers went largely silent.

But the criticisms surrounding that trade even when it happened were never really about the regular season. You don’t trade numerous first-round picks for victories in the regular season. Questions were far more about whether a lineup with two legitimate 7-footers could defend in the playoffs.

And we’re about to get that answer. Because Phoenix can legitimately extend and stress a big-ball lineup with its skill and shooting. Gobert will have to dominate the paint on both ends to mitigate any speed advantage the Suns may generate

Towns will be put in uncomfortable situations on defense, while being asked to take advantage of mismatches on offense. He will also be the first person asked to punish Phoenix for placing too much defensive attention on Edwards.

“I see KAT being the MVP of the series, if we win it,” Edwards said. “He’s the best player on the team. You put two and three (players) on me and you leave best player on the team 1 on 1, that’s something we live for. He takes the responsibility on defense, and if he does a great job, we’ll come out on top.”

The hopes of a series riding on the shoulders of Towns may be a scary proposition for Wolves fans who have witnessed the big man’s postseason struggles firsthand over the years.

Gobert has had similar experiences, not necessarily in his own play, but in the ways playoff opponents manipulate his size and positioning to greatly limit the defensive impact that’s so prominent in the regular season.

Every time Gobert wins another Defensive Player of the Year award, a “yeah, but the playoffs” is surely waiting right around the corner. This series — and these playoffs — are Gobert’s chance at a rebuttal.

“It’s an amazing opportunity. And that’s what I’ve always worked for and dreamed of. Always wanted to win a championship,” Gobert said. “At the end of the day, I think the highest mark of respect is people challenging you to do the things that you haven’t done yet. And I haven’t been past the second round yet, so how can I be mad at them for challenging me to do that?”

Frankly, Gobert and Towns are challenging themselves — and their team — to do that.

They know their reputations. Everyone does.

“Everybody knows who’s won championships, who is battle-tested and who hasn’t been,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “I think that’s just the normal info we get.”

A winning playoff reputation builds cache. A losing reputation cuts at patience. Phoenix’s long-term core is pretty well cemented for years to come based on the salary cap sheet, as well as confidence. Durant and Booker have earned that belief, even if Phoenix get bounced by Minnesota.

But if the opposite occurs, and the Timberwolves, fresh off a 56-win season, are ousted in Round 1, the voices suggesting Gobert and Towns can’t get it done when it matters most will only get louder as their supply of ammo grows.

Towns acknowledged winning this series is “really, really important.”

“Like, probably one of the most important things in my career so far here in Minnesota. Have a great chance to do something. There’s a lot on the line. We’ve got a lot to play for,” Towns said. “There’s obviously a big hunger here to be able to get to the second round. That’s something we haven’t done here in Minnesota for a long time.”

If they achieve it, everything the Timberwolves accomplished during the regular season will be validated, and the Wolves’ narrative will likely read much differently moving forward.

“We saw it with Giannis, we saw it with Jokic. Everyone always had something to say about their game and about who they are as players until they won a championship,” Gobert said. “And then what did people have to say after that? Not much. They can only respect. So I have to earn their respect.”

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