Tyus Jones is a trademark of Minnesota basketball

Tyus Jones is the quiet achiever off the bench for the Timberwolves. With three seasons in Minnesota, Jones has had just 11 starts, but an incredibly impressive impact nonetheless.

One big reason for why Tyus Jones sits atop my pedestal of Timberwolves’ players is where his basketball all began; Minnesota. Jones was born in Burnsville, Minnesota, and in high school earned his spot as a starter playing varsity for Apple Valley.

Jones is the Wolves’ hometown kid, and apart from his one year in college with Duke has been playing Minnesota basketball since he began.

After the Wolves traded up to select him, with a call from the Cavaliers reportedly coming through with two minutes on the clock, Jones has been quoted numerous times about how jubilant he was being drafted by Minnesota.

"“I always have wanted to play for the Timberwolves … Just growing up in Minnesota, it’s what you dream of as a kid, going to games, watching on TV. To know I’m going to put a Timberwolves jersey on, it’s truly a blessing.”"

If that doesn’t warm your heart, you must be as cold as Minnesotan winters.

Jones’ Minnesotan spirit has never wavered since. He’s always putting the effort in on and off the court, and I always remember a video below showing him putting in work a few years ago before he really got a shot with the team.

It’s important to note how fantastic Jones was as a young ball player; Not only was he the NCAA most outstanding player of the final four in 2015, where he and Duke won the championship, but Jones was also awarded Summer League MVP of 2016.

Of the Timberwolves’ five-man lineups used this season, Jones features in all of the seven highest-rated according to +/- per game. That betters to eight, if you change the parameters to per 100 possessions.

Jones is not a high volume scorer, but as a floor general, he is a great distributor of the ball and the offense runs quite smoothly with him on the court. His ability to gel with different lineups also makes him quite versatile, as he can fit in with both the starters or the second unit.

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While his stats don’t jump off the page, Jones has been shooting 46.2% from the field, and is shooting 89.4% from the free-throw line. Transferring Jones’ stats to per 36 minutes makes them a little more impressive, however his points average which would then stand at 10.2 for the season still undervalues Jones’ contributions.

The ways in which Jones contributes on the court cannot be measured in basic statistics, but if you analyze the games you can see how smoothly the offense, and even defense, runs while he is on the court.

Jones’ unwavering effort on both ends of the court make him the dangerous role-player that he’s turned into for the Timberwolves. As things currently stand, he may never be the Wolves’ number-one point guard, but his continued improvement and his seemingly found place with the team may see him mature into that in the future.

For now, Jones is a lovable side character to many Wolves’ fans, but the hometown kid has made his presence known this season, and his contributions have certainly helped the team accumulate the impressive record it currently holds – possibly even a playoff bout.

A bonus reason you should love Jones is his dog, which happens to be one of the cutest animals I’ve ever seen.

https://twitter.com/dogsofmsp/status/833366060208304128

I look forward to continue seeing Jones’ improvement on the court, and he’ll hopefully be in Minnesota colors for years to come.

Next: Kawhi Leonard Trade Scenario

Make sure to watch Jones and the rest of the Wolves fight their way into securing a playoff spot over the next week.

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