Twenty-three Timberwolves games will be free on KARE 11 this season, and I think the DAZN Season Pass at $119.99 is worth buying for the rest, as long as you buy the season and not the month.
What changed this year
Per FOX 9, FanDuel Sports Network carried them the last two seasons and Bally Sports North before that. On July 30, 2026, the team announced it was moving to DAZN, with a service covering Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and parts of Kansas and Wisconsin.
The NBA produces the local broadcasts and DAZN streams them.
The 15 free DAZN games
Fifteen DAZN games are free. They air over the air on KARE 11 in the Twin Cities, and Gray Media stations simulcast them in Mankato (KEYC 7.3), Rochester (KXLT 47.2), Duluth (KBJR 6.3) and La Crosse-Eau Claire (WECX 14.1), per KEYC’s announcement on Wednesday. Every one also streams free on DAZN’s app and at dazn.com/Timberwolves. The schedule is subject to change. Per KDHL Radio’s list of the games:
| Date | Game | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 28 | vs. Golden State | 7:00 p.m. |
| Oct. 30 | vs. LA Clippers | 7:00 p.m. |
| Nov. 6 | at New Orleans | 7:00 p.m. |
| Nov. 12 | vs. Dallas | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 | vs. LA Lakers | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dec. 21 | vs. Phoenix | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | vs. Denver | 3:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 7 | at Toronto | 6:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 14 | at Chicago | 7:00 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 | at San Antonio | 8:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 29 | vs. Charlotte | 8:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 7 | vs. Utah | 2:30 p.m. |
| Mar. 18 | at Utah | 8:00 p.m. |
| Mar. 26 | vs. Orlando | 7:00 p.m. |
| Apr. 9 | at LA Lakers | 9:00 p.m. |
All times are Central. Nine of the 15 are at Target Center. Eight of the 15 tip at 7:00 p.m. The two afternoon games are the New Year’s Eve game against Denver at 3:00 p.m. and the February 7 game against Utah at 2:30 p.m., and the Lakers game on April 9 is the latest start at 9:00 p.m.
January 29 is LaMelo Ball against his old team Charlotte, at home, and Charlotte is now where Rob Dillingham landed after the Bulls traded him. The Lakers show up twice and the Nuggets come in on New Year’s Eve. I’d circle the Clippers on October 30 too, because it comes two nights after Golden State in what is a quick first look at the new rotation.
The list of 15 also leaves things out. There is no Oklahoma City, Houston, Boston or New York in it, and there is no Spurs home game.
The eight NBC games make it 23
KARE 11 is also the Twin Cities home for the Wolves’ NBC games. Per MarketScale, eight of them air on the station on top of the 15 DAZN games, 23 free telecasts in all, reaching about 1.5 million homes.
Nationally, the Wolves have 27 games across ESPN/ABC (11), NBC (10) and Prime Video (6), per Sports Media Watch. Those are on the national networks. FOX 9 lists six games on NBA TV as well.
Who needs the DAZN pass
Do the subtraction. The season is 82 games and 27 are national. That leaves 55 games for the local broadcast, and 15 of those are free. That leaves at most 40 that need a subscription. FOX 9 lists six more games on NBA TV, and I can’t tell whether DAZN carries those locally. That is a lot of basketball behind a paywall.
The prices, per FOX 9 (September 10):
| Plan | Price | Streams |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pass | $19.99 a month | 2 |
| Monthly Pass Ultimate | $24.99 a month | 5 |
| Season Pass | $119.99 a season | 2 |
| Season Pass Ultimate | $139.99 a season | 5 |
The Ultimate tiers add multiview and alternate angles, and allow two locations instead of one. Season ticket holders get 20% off. FOX 9 reported a seven-day free trial available through the start of the season.
The monthly plan is the trap. The Wolves play from October into April, which touches seven calendar months. Seven months of the basic plan is $139.93. The Season Pass is $119.99, so you save about $20 and don’t have to remember to cancel. Spread over those 40 games, it comes to about $3 a game at most.
You can go cheaper if you’re picky, since the free slate and the national games cover plenty. I’d still buy the pass. The games that tell you whether the new roster works are the ones that aren’t free, the ordinary weeknights where the bench plays real minutes. I’d rather watch those than read about them.
What to do this week
- Mark October 28 against the Warriors, the first of the 15 free DAZN games.
- Check that you can get KARE 11 over the air, or that your cable or streaming TV package carries it. The Gray stations in Mankato, Rochester, Duluth and La Crosse-Eau Claire use the digital subchannels listed above.
- If you want the other games, get the Season Pass.