On a team as talented as the Minnesota Timberwolves, it is very easy to be the forgotten man. With future GOAT Anthony Edwards (Ant), All-Star forward Karl Anthony-Towns (KAT), and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, there is only so much headline space left for other players. But to a man, the Timberwolves players will tell you. If Jaden McDaniels has a good game, we win.
Humble Beginnings
Jaden McDaniels’ career with the Minnesota Timberwolves started with a whimper, not a bang. A High All-American out of Federal Way High in Seattle, he spent one tumultuous year at the University of Washington before declaring for the draft.
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted McDaniels with the 28th pick in the 2020 NBA draft. He was quickly involved in a three-team trade that eventually landed him in Minnesota. When he first arrived in Minnesota, there were no high expectations for him. He was viewed as a raw talent who might eventually have some upside as a role player.
Timberwolves Created Opportunities for McDaniels
He started 27 games in his rookie season and flashed signs of being a potent three-and-D player in the NBA. He improved in his sophomore season, and most of his stats continued on an upward trend. He gradually improved as he moved into a starting role at the start of the 2022-23 season. His reputation as a shutdown defender was a poorly kept secret in the league. Still, there were some hiccups along the way.
Mcdaniels and the Timberwolves Suffer Growing Pains
McDaniels still had some work to do to become a well-rounded NBA player. He got into foul trouble early in his career due to his overaggressiveness. He would disappear offensively some nights and appeared to lose confidence in his shooting ability and his place on the team.
And his temper still arose from time to time. Near the end of the first quarter of last year’s final game of the regular season, McDaniels picked up his second personal foul and was sent to the bench. In his frustration regarding the play, he solidly punched a wall and sustained a fractured right hand. He knew he had let his team down and looked to the future for redemption.
Game 6 Heroics
That redemption came in the form of his outstanding play in the Timberwolves blowout 115-70 win over the Denver Nuggets to tie their Western Conference Semifinal Series at three apiece. His shooting stats for the game jump out and grab a hold of you.
He was 8-10 from the floor, including 3-5 from three-point range. He had already made a name a name for himself in the series with his shutdown defense against Jamal Murray. Now, he punctuated his series performance with his breakout offensive night.
Timberwolves Coach Praises McDaniels
Asked about McDaniels play after the game, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, “Confidence, just confidence. He hadn’t been shooting the ball well. They are going to continue to give him good looks. It was his three that sparked us out of that timeout. We really needed to see that thing go down. Then everything came in the flow of the offense. He got a bunch of buckets in a lot of different ways and for us, when that’s happening with Jaden, we know we’re playing the right way.”
McDaniels and the Timberwolves hope he repeats his performance in Game 7 of the series tonight. If he does, the Timberwolves will most likely earn a spot in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
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Greg Simbeck covers a variety of sports for Total Apex Sports. He specializes in MLB coverage. Greg has covered various sports for numerous other publications over the years.
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