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The Minnesota Timberwolves will kick off the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night for the first time in 20 years, and one of their part owners knows all about what it takes to win a championship.
Alex Rodriguez, who was part of the ownership group that purchased the team with Mark Lore in 2021, won a title in 2009 with the New York Yankees. Now, he's one of the main men in charge.
Rodriguez called the initial deal a "dream opportunity" (he admits owning a basketball team wasn't the original plan, as he did come up in second place for the New York Mets). However, the Wolves opportunity came up, so he jumped, and the ROI has been awesome.
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Former baseball player Alex Rodriguez celebrates with Jaden McDaniels #3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves after the win over the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 19, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
"We've been thrilled. We've been involved for three years, and the team is doing pretty well," Rodriguez said in a recent interview with Fox News.
During Sunday's Game 7 of the second round, though, he was acting like a kid again, dropping some "let's f---ing go"s in the final seconds of their series clincher against the reigning champs in the Denver Nuggets.
"I was with my girlfriend in Game 7 in a very hostile environment playing the great reigning world champions, and if you listened to my girlfriend, she told me I needed Lysol because I stunk so much," Rodriguez, one of Lysol's newest partners, said. "I was wearing a pinstriped suit, and she thought I was wearing my Yankees pinstripes because I was so stinky and sweaty. I had to change on the plane right away, because it was a very stressful, high-energy game, and I'm so happy and proud of our guys that they pulled it off."
Rodriguez says he partnered with Lysol when they had an idea to pay homage to clubhouse workers in locker rooms - as Rodriguez put in, "they do all the dirty work" (pun unintended).
"Those pinstripes in the summer, when it’s hot, it is stinky when you’re done with those nine innings," he joked.
Minnesota Timberwolves minority owner and former baseball player Alex Rodriguez celebrates at the end of the game of Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Semi-finals at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
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Rodriguez has something in common with the Wolves' two star players in Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. The three of them are all No. 1 overall picks. Furthermore, Towns grew up a die-hard Yankee fan in New Jersey and, much like Rodriguez, also has Dominican roots. He played for the Dominican national team in 2013, coached by John Calipari, whom he later joined at Kentucky.
"We have our whole country fired up about the Timberwolves," Rodriguez added.
Edwards has taken the basketball world by storm this postseason with his confident trash talk and equally-impressive play. Towns, meanwhile, has been through the trials and tribulations with Minnesota, and is seeing the dividends pay off.
"Anthony and KAT are two very special human beings. They're unique talent, but first picks, and they're on the road to hopefully do something really special. Their dream is to win a world championship. I marvel at how much they've grown in just three years. It's been fun to watch. They've put in a lot of work," Rodriguez said.
Former baseball player Alex Rodriguez reacts during the third quarter in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on May 19, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
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Rodriguez isn't handing out any predictions, but he sure is confident. And how can he not be?
The Wolves' series against the Dallas Mavericks — who play roughly 20 minutes away from Rodriguez's former Texas Rangers — kicks off Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m.
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