With a new star point guard on the team, there is plenty of excitement for the upcoming 2026-27 Minnesota Timberwolves season.
No player is perfect, though. Each key member of the team has an area they’d like to improve to help the Wolves reach their ceiling. Here is one number that seven important Minnesota players should want to improve on in 2026-27.Â
Players are listed in alphabetical order by last name. The list is seven deep, but if I went with 10, it would also include Jaylen Clark (3-point percentage), Josh Green (points), and Bones Hyland (free-throw percentage).
LaMelo Ball - Frequency of shots at the rim
The Timberwolves should have the ability to put immense pressure on opposing defenses, which can lead to them getting in foul trouble. That would partly require LaMelo Ball reverting to how he played during his first few seasons.
His 3.2 free-throw attempts per 36 minutes were a career-low for the six-year player. There’s nothing wrong with Ball shooting 3-pointers, but he can rein that in a bit. Just 11.2 percent of his field goal attempts last season came at the rim.
Joan Beringer - Foul rate
As a rookie last year, Joan Beringer played just 314 total minutes. With Julius Randle and Naz Reid no longer on the squad, Beringer is expected to have a much larger role in his age-20 season.
It’s easy to see how much potential Beringer has as a rim-stopper with quick enough feet to not get embarrassed on the perimeter either. He just needs to learn that not every shot needs to be contested by jumping for a block. Beringer averaged 5.4 fouls per 36 minutes, and that could become a much larger problem with his expected increase in playing time.
Ayo Dosunmu - 3-point attempts rateÂ
Whether with the Chicago Bulls or the Timberwolves, Ayo Dosunmu has proven to be a knockdown shooter. He made them at a 43.9 percent clip last season, good for sixth-best in the league.
However, his 5.4 3-point attempts per 36 minutes in 2025-26 were barely more than Julius Randle’s rate. The Timberwolves don’t want to take away his aggressiveness, but if he’s open from beyond the arc, don’t hesitate to let it up.
Anthony Edwards - Assists
Anthony Edwards could soon ascend into a true top MVP candidate. To do so, the 25-year-old will need to do more than just put up a lot of points.
The 3.7 assists Edwards averaged last year were the least since his rookie year. Yes, the team now rosters Ball, but Ant-Man will still have the ball in his hands a lot and will be expected to make the correct basketball decisions.
Rudy Gobert - Points
Last season, Rudy Gobert averaged 10.9 points per outing. That was his lowest since 2015-16, even though he led the league in field goal percentage for the fourth time in his career. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year ended his season by going scoreless in Game 6 of the conference semifinals.
Gobert often played without a true point guard alongside him last year. This season, Ball should find Gobert for numerous lobs, and the center should find a few easy baskets each game.Â
Jaden McDaniels - Foul rateÂ
Jaden McDaniels is one of the most tenacious defenders in the NBA. Part of the reason Chris Finch may be hesitant about starting him at power forward is a greater opportunity to pick up fouls.
Remarkably, McDaniels committed five fouls in seven of Minnesota’s 12 postseason contests last season. During the regular season, he fouled out four times. McDaniels is such an important part of the club, and it hurts when he can’t be on the floor due to foul trouble.Â
Terrence Shannon Jr. - Free-throw attempt rateÂ
During his five years of college basketball, Terrence Shannon Jr. displayed a propensity for getting to the foul line. He showcased that more in his second NBA season, but he could do so even more.
Chris Finch has stated during the offseason that he should put Shannon on the ball more. While there’s a chance that he could be in the starting lineup, it seems like that would happen more often for Shannon in a reserve role. It would allow Shannon to be more aggressive and thus receive more free-throw attempts.
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