We look back at a season for the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard, Zach LaVine.
The Minnesota Timberwolves 13th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Zach LaVine, was often known for his high-flying dunks but little do some people know he really began to develop a smooth jump shot in the 2016-17 campaign.
This was by far LaVine’s best season in the NBA.
His minutes per game were upped from 28.0 in 2015, to 37.1 in the first year under Thibodeau. He also had a huge jump in points. He went from 14.0 points per game to 18.9 in 2016-17.
With Tom Thibodeau at the helm, the starters got plenty of minutes.
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Andrew Wiggins was third in the league at 37.2 and LaVine would have been right behind him in fourth with the 37.1 if he had played enough games. Karl-Anthony Towns also played 37 minutes per game.
Zach LaVine proved that he was more than just a dunker during his 47 game stint before his ACL Tear. He provided a great jump shot from all over the court.
He shot 45 percent from the field and a team-leading leading 38 percent from the 3-point line.
LaVine was on pace to shatter the Timberwolves single season 3-point record. He had 120 in 47 games, while the record was set by Kevin Love who had 190.
He was also very consistent on the offensive end. He had eighteen games of 20 or more points, three of 30 or more, and topped 40 once.
There would be games where LaVine would be absolutely unstoppable, knocking down shot after shot. then there would be games where he would disappear and not be effective whatsoever.
During the season it often looked as if when LaVine was having a great shooting game, his counterpart Andrew Wiggins would be off. Or vice versa if Wiggins was on, LaVine would be off. But on some occasions, they would both catch fire.
The Nov. 9 game against Orlando is a great example. LaVine shot 7-for-9 from 3-point land and had 37 points while Wiggins had 29 points on an effective 10-for-18 shooting. The Wolves won 123-107.
With the exception of Karl-Anthony Towns, the whole Wolves team needs to work on consistency.
Whether that be on the offensive end, or defensive end.
With LaVine he would have games where he lit up the scoreboard, but if he had a rough shooting night he wouldn’t be any help to the Wolves because his defense lacked heavily.
He had a couple of great dunks and games that were memorable throughout the season. Here are some of those highlights.
Despite the loss in this game, LaVine scored a season-high 40 points on 13-for-21 shooting and 7-for12 from the 3-point line.
Here is a putback dunk against the 76ers.
LaVine has been working vigorously to get his ACL back into shape. He has even started running just three months removed from it. He will be looking to come back in top notch form for the 2017-2018 Season.
2016-2017 Grade: B
While definitely being effective on the offensive end it would be nice to see his defense improve next year.
Next: The Timberwolves should draft Jonathan Isaac
If he, KAT, and Wiggins can both become great two-way players, the Wolves are going to take the league by storm and possibly make a much-needed playoff push for the 2017-18 year.