Minnesota Timberwolves vs LA Lakers Starting Lineups and Depth Charts for Oct. 22 | 2024-25 NBA Season

The Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Lakers will start their 2024-25 season on Tuesday. Both Western Conference teams come into the season with championship aspirations, even though Minnesota has a far better roster on paper. But one can never count out a Lakers squad with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in it.

The Timberwolves finished last season with a 56-26 record, good enough to be third in the West. They lost 4-1 to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals. Meanwhile, the Lakers finished seventh with a 47-35 record. They made the NBA playoffs via the play-in tournament. LA suffered a 4-1 first-round defeat against the Denver Nuggets.

The two teams have faced each other 129 times, with LA holding a lopsided 85-44 record. They met four times last season, as Minnesota took the series 3-1.

The Timberwolves vs. Lakers game on Tuesday is scheduled to tip off at 10 p.m. EDT. It will be broadcast nationally on TNT. For fans who want to stream the matchup, they need to subscribe to NBA League Pass or FuboTV.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. LA Lakers: Injury Reports

Minnesota Timberwolves injury report for Oct. 22

Minnesota didn’t report any injuries for its season opener.

LA Lakers injury report for Oct. 22

The Lakers will be without Jarred Vanderbilt (foot), Christian Wood (left knee) and Christian Koloko (undisclosed illness).

Here’s a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. LA Lakers’ starting lineups and depth charts for Oct. 22.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. LA Lakers: Starting lineups and depth chart

Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup and depth chart

Position	Starter	2nd	3rd
PG	Mike Conley	Donte DiVincenzo	Rob Dillingham
SG	Anthony Edwards	Donte DiVincenzo	Nickeil Alexander-Walker
SF	Jaden McDaniels	Joe Ingles	Donte DiVincenzo
PF	Julius Randle	Naz Reid	Leonard Miller
C	Rudy Gobert	Naz Reid	Julius Randle

LA Lakers starting lineup and depth chart

Position	Starter	2nd	3rd
PG	D'Angelo Russell	Gabe Vincent	Bronny James
SG	Austin Reaves	Max Christie	Dalton Knecht
SF	Rui Hachimura	Dalton Knecht	LeBron James
PF	LeBron James	Rui Hachimura	Cam Reddish
C	Anthony Davis	Jaxson Hayes	Maxwell Lewis

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. LA Lakers: Key matchups

Anthony Edwards vs. LeBron James

Tuesday’s matchup pits two of the NBA’s best against each other. Both Anthony Edwards and LeBron James are fresh off of guiding Team USA to the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While James’ NBA legacy is well documented, Edwards is on the rise to be the next NBA superstar.

Edwards has the fifth-best odds this year (+1200) to win the MVP. Expect him to come out strong from Game 1 itself. While James has already accomplished everything on a basketball court, his desire to excel doesn’t seem to diminish. He needs to be at his best if the Lakers are to contend for a title.

Anthony Davis vs. Minnesota bigs

LeBron James is just one of the two vital cogs for LA to have a great season. The other, of course, is Anthony Davis. The nine-time All-Star is a two-way threat. Minnesota has a powerful big man in Rudy Gobert. If Davis wants to have a great game, he will need to dominate the reigning Defensive Player of the Year on the offensive board.