The Minnesota Timberwolves have made it back to the playoffs this season, after winning their play-in tournament game. There is no doubt that this is a good achievement for the franchise, and it’ll be good for fans in Minnesota to witness playoff basketball.
After the play-in tournament, a lot of Timberwolves players celebrated their win and the fact that they made the playoffs. For example, Patrick Beverley was overcome with emotion and in tears when the Timberwolves managed to clinch their spot in the playoffs.
Some people have criticized and roasted the Timberwolves players for celebrating their win. The sentiment stemmed from the idea that players shouldn’t celebrate simply making the playoffs, and should celebrate winning championships. For example, Kyle Kuzma laughed at Patrick Beverley, jokingly saying that it looked as though he won the championship.
JJ Redick has recently pushed back on the idea that players shouldn’t celebrate those wins, pointing out that athletes showed that they cared about the results on the court. Redick clearly believes that making fun of athletes for celebrating the achievement of goals is “wrong”.
For all the knocks against professional athletes, we witnessed in real time them showing that it matters. Them showing how much they cared. They cared, the city cared, the fans cared, The team cared, the players cared. They cared, and we’re going to make fun of that? It’s wrong.
There is no doubt that it is important for athletes to care about the results of their season. The Minnesota Timberwolves were clearly happy to break their playoff drought, and their emotion showed that they absolutely cared about making the postseason.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have already managed to win one game against the Memphis Grizzlies, and it is possible that the series will be closer than expected. Hopefully, we continue to see the Timberwolves do well, and perhaps we’ll see them do the incredible and pull off an upset.
