The 7-seed Timberwolves have quietly executed a remarkable turnaround — and are playing Tuesday for their first postseason berth since 2018.

The Wolves are the fifth-youngest team (24.5 YRS) in the NBA, working with only the 12th-highest payroll ($137.1M), and haven’t made any significant moves from last season.

Yet they improved by 23 wins this campaign by continuing to take a chance on a relatively unknown second-year head coach and a first-time GM — and trusting the evolution of their Big Three.

• Hired in February 2021, Chris Finch coached the team to its best win total since ’18, earning his multiyear deal signed on Monday.
• Sachin Gupta was promoted in September 2021 after former GM Gersson Rosas was fired; the analytics-driven executive created the ESPN Trade Machine in 2006.
• Karl-Anthony Towns (24.6 PPG), Anthony Edwards (21.3 PPG), and D’Angelo Russell (18.1 PPG) are all younger than 26.

Health played a big factor: Towns ($31.7M) and Russell ($27.3M) played together in only 25 games from 2019-2021 (13-12). They’re 39-24 when they’re both on the floor this season.

The change started from the top in April 2021, when governing owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore bought the team for $1.5 billion. 

A few months later, they fired Rosas for an inappropriate workplace relationship and fostering a toxic culture — paving the way for this improbable turnaround.

Minnesota is a small home favorite (-2.5) against the Clippers to advance to the first round against Memphis.

The Atlanta Dream made a splash on April 6, acquiring the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft from the Mystics for the third and 14th picks.

On Monday, the Dream selected Kentucky shooting guard Rhyne Howard — a positive force both on and off the court.

A two-time First-Team All-American and two-time SEC Player of the Year, Howard led the Wildcats in points (20.5), blocks (1.3), steals (2.3) and three-point percentage (38.3%) en route to an SEC Tournament title during her final season in Lexington.

The 21-year-old’s basketball prowess has already sparked financial opportunities.

• As a top-four pick, Howard is in line for a three-year, $226,668 contract with a $91,981 team option for a fourth year, per the WNBA’s rookie scale.
• The Tennessee native holds endorsement deals with Wingstop, Powerade, Reebok, and Direct Auto Insurance.
• She was one of the most prominent NIL advocates in Kentucky, speaking at a ceremony before the state’s Senate Bill 6 was signed into law.

Under first-time head coach Tanisha Wright, Howard will attempt to turn around a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity in recent years — but history suggests a top pick can work wonders for the Dream.

The last time they drafted first overall, they took five-time All-Star Angel McCoughtry in 2009 — and made the WNBA Finals three times between 2010 and 2013.

Unfortunately, the Dream failed to win a single game in any of those Finals — and have only advanced once in a playoff series since.

Guardians rookie Steven Kwan is off to a historic start — and a profitable one, courtesy of the new collective bargaining agreement.

After going 1-for-3 with two walks against the Royals on Monday, Kwan has now reached base 15 times in his first four MLB games — the most for any player since at least 1901.

The 24-year-old picked the right season to make his mark in MLB, as the rookie minimum increased 22.7% from 2021 due to the negotiations ending the 99-day lockout.

• Kwan is earning $700,000 — up $129,500 from last season’s minimum ($570,500).
• The 2018 fifth-rounder inked a $185,000 signing bonus — below the $303,400 allotted.
• In his first 26 swings of his career, Kwan hasn’t had a swing-and-miss.
• In 19 plate appearances, he has six singles, two doubles, a triple, and five walks to slash .692/.790/1.000.

With Kwan producing in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, the Guardians (2-2) have scored the most runs in MLB (28) and have a league-leading plus-14 run differential. Cleveland, which hasn’t won the World Series since 1948, was a minus-10 last season.

Kwan’s blistering start bumped his odds to win AL Rookie of the Year from +4,500 to +1,600.