The Minnesota Timberwolves made quick work of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, dispatching them in five games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. Watching courtside at Crypto.com Arena was none other than Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez—flanked by none other than WWE royalty Charlotte Flair.
Blending right in with the usual sea of celebrities in LA, A-Rod took in the action alongside Flair, the daughter of wrestling icon Ric Flair and known in the wrestling world as “The Queen.” With their presence adding some serious star power to the occasion, the Timberwolves delivered the knockout blow, eliminating LeBron James and the Lakers in dominant fashion.
Alex Rodriguez, who just wrapped up a long-running legal process to finalize his purchase of the team alongside business partner Marc Lore, had every reason to show up and enjoy his investment shining on the biggest stage.
Flair, too, seemed to bring a bit of good luck with her. And as it turns out, she may have been a lucky charm—because Minnesota looked every bit the part of a team on the rise, handling business on the road and leaving the home crowd stunned.
Magic Johnson Shows Love to Alex Rodriguez, Criticizes Lakers
The Timberwolves’ performance didn’t just earn applause from their fans—it got the respect of a Lakers legend, too.
Magic Johnson, never one to sugarcoat things, congratulated Rodriguez and the Timberwolves on X after the game while pulling no punches on the Lakers’ shortcomings.
“Congratulations to my good friend Minnesota Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, superstar Anthony Edwards, and the entire Minnesota Timberwolves team for beating my Lakers and advancing to the next round,” Johnson wrote.
But then came the tough love: “The reason the Lakers lost was because they played awful on defense, they were too small, and the Timberwolves dominated them in the paint.”
Johnson had been optimistic before Game 5, even tweeting, “I have full confidence that Luka and LeBron will take care of business and beat the Timberwolves tonight!”
Unfortunately for him and Lakers Nation, that confidence didn’t translate to results. Rudy Gobert powered the Timberwolves with 27 points, 24 rebounds, and two blocks, silencing the doubters and sending Minnesota to the next round—with A-Rod and Charlotte Flair loving every second of it.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
