Minnesota Timberwolves: Chemistry showing up on and off the court

The Minnesota Timberwolves went through massive changes this offseason in order to change the culture and it looks like it’s working perfectly.

Since Gersson Rosas has been hired in the offseason, he’s continued to say the team is going to go through a massive culture change. As all Minnesota Timberwolves fans know, words don’t mean much until it’s actually being shown.

Thus far, it’s being executed both on and off the court.

It started by cleaning house, hiring many assistant coaches that were highly sought out throughout the league. Minnesota has a lot of new players on the roster as well; athletes that fit the mold of what they’re trying to build.

Players have stepped up into leadership roles as most of the team stayed in the Twin Cities area to practice throughout the offseason. Whereas in the past, members of the team did a lot of their stuff individually.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins have each been very vocal about improving their leadership skills.

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Both Towns and Wiggins were influential in bringing the team to the Bahamas, which birthed the nickname of the “Bahama Wolves.” The Timberwolves also returned to Mankato for part of their training camp this October, something the team used to do when Flip Saunders was head coach.

The Wolves also recently had a Halloween party, which is just another event this team has put on to bond together.

Overall, the offseason created a lot of excitement amongst fans as they got to see how cohesive this group was. That cohesion, along with Karl-Anthony Towns playing at an MVP level, has led to Minnesota’s hot start this season.

Minnesota is atop the Western Conference standings at 3-0, which is their second best start in franchise history.

The team is playing well on both sides of the floor as their offensive rating of 111.0 points per 100 possessions is good for third and the defense sits in 12th place with a rating of 102.1.

They’re also putting up 121.3 points per game, which is the fourth-highest mark in the NBA, thanks in large part to their ball movement as they’ve averaged 25.7 assists per contest, good for sixth in the league.

When Wiggins made four straight 3’s to ice the game against the Miami Heat, he was met by a celebratory mob from his teammates.

This is the sort of stuff that shows how tight-knit this group is. Wiggins had been struggling from three and has had two downs years, but after this run the team met him to show they’re with him the entire way. That’s exactly what Wiggins had to say afterwards:

It’s only been three games, but it looks like the efforts to change the culture both on and off the court have succeeded thus far.