Dunking With Wolves
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3 key takeaways from the Minnesota Timberwolves at NBA Summer League

By Jack Borman

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 14: Mitchell Creek #55 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to a play against the Brooklyn Nets during the Semifinals of the Las Vegas Summer League. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 14: Mitchell Creek #55 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to a play against the Brooklyn Nets during the Semifinals of the Las Vegas Summer League. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 15: The Minnesota Timberwolves bench reacts to a play during the Finals of the Las Vegas Summer League. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Despite the Timberwolves falling just short of capturing the NBA Summer League crown, their two weeks in Las Vegas is still cause for excitement for next season.

There’s just something about Wolfpacks having a great time in Sin City.

Luckily, this time around, no one lost any teeth, lost their best friend, or woke up to a tiger in their bathroom.

Although the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ undefeated NBA Summer League run came to a close with a 95-92 loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies in the championship game earlier this week, fans couldn’t be more thrilled with what they saw over the past couple of weeks in the desert.

Sure, it was deflating that we didn’t get a chance to see the new draft picks, Jarrett Culver and Jaylen Nowell, but we did get to see undrafted free agent pickup Naz Reid and a team full of hungry young players that displayed strong team chemistry and completely bought into new Wolves’ assistant coach Pablo Prigioni’s modern offensive system.

Led by second-year leaders Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop and Summer League veteran Mitch Creek,  the Wolves’ summer squad played with a ton of energy on both ends and was incredibly unselfish on offense, which enabled Prigioni’s motion offense to create a massive impact on the outcome of their games.

Watching this team compete on a national stage over the past two weeks has been one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in my 10+ years of closely following Timberwolves basketball. Which says something, but I digress.

From seeing Josh Okogie fly around on defense and throwing down thunderous jams, to Keita Bates-Diop making timely threes, Mitch Creek irritating the daylights out of opposing offenses, Naz Reid smoothly draining long-range jumpers and bullying defenders down low, Jordan Murphy refusing to score on anything other than an and-one after getting rebounding two of his own misses, Jordan McLaughlin running the show, Kelan Martin exhibiting some serious offensive firepower at all three levels, and everything in between, this team was a treat to watch.

To get a glimpse of what I’m talking about, checkout the Wolves’ Summer League highlights here.

Now, let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the Wolves’ time in Vegas.