The Minnesota Timberwolves have been through a thing or two together. And Naz Reid is one guy in the locker room who thinks that matters a lot right now.

Minnesota is locked into the sixth seed in the Western Conference heading into the postseason, sitting at 47-33. It hasn't been a smooth ride getting here. Anthony Edwards has been managing a knee injury down the stretch, Jaden McDaniels has been sidelined, and the team dropped three straight games heading into this week.

But when a reporter asked Reid about what it means for this group to have been through the end of season and playoff gauntlet before, his answer was simple.

"Yeah, for sure," Reid said. "I think pretty much, just having the same team in some ways, that helps as well."

It might just sound like a nothing answer, but there's real significance to Reid's statement. Two straight Western Conference Finals appearances will do something to a group. The losses stung, but the lessons stuck too, and the players who lived through both of those runs are largely still here.

Reid, Edwards, McDaniels, Gobert and Anderson have all been along for the ride. Randle and DiVincenzo came over last season and went through the Thunder series alongside them. The shared history is hard to manufacture, and it's a big reason why the front office made keeping this group together a priority heading into this season.

On the floor, the continuity has shown up in the numbers, too. Their starting five has logged more minutes together than any other unit in the league this season. Familiarity doesn't just help in November, it's also what allows a team to make the right reads under pressure when a playoff series is on the line.

Minnesota's path in the playoffs isn't going to be easy. A projected first-round matchup with the third-seeded Nuggets is about as difficult a draw as a sixth seed can get, especially against a team they've already had wars with.

Edwards' health is the biggest variable. Minnesota has been careful with him down the stretch, resting him in back-to-backs and not pushing it with seeding mostly locked in. The goal is clearly to have him right when it counts, and the Wolves seem to be managing that well.

But if this group gets healthy and finds its rhythm, the experience Reid talked about becomes a real weapon. They've been in hostile road environments late in playoff series. They know what it feels like when the moment gets big.

The togetherness and synergy built over years doesn't leave a locker room, and for a team that's been this close two years in a row, it might be exactly what they need.