Minnesota Timberwolves: SI ranks three Wolves from No. 51 to No. 100
By Ben Beecken
Sports Illustrated published players No. 51 through No. 100 in their latest player ranking series. Three Minnesota Timberwolves appear in that range, with one name still to appear in the top 50.
Did SI.com get it right? Are any Wolves ranked too high or too low?
Minnesota Timberwolves: SI ranks three Wolves from No. 51 to No. 100
These lists are always chock-full of controversy. It’s far from an exact science, of course, with plenty of factors contributing to each individual player’s ranking.
Team context matters, of course, from the organization and coaching staff to the teammates surrounding a given player. How does the player impact winning? It’s more than individual stats, of course. And defense matters.
Additionally, injuries have to be taken into account. The fewer games that any given player has appeared in, the tougher it is to rank them. That rings true for rookies and second-year players, as well as established players who have recently battled injuries.
With Karl-Anthony Towns surely to come at some point in the top 50, let’s look at the three Wolves players who landed from Nos. 51 to 100.
SI.com ranks Minnesota Timberwolves’ Malik Beasley at No. 94
Malik Beasley cracks a top-100 list for the first time in his still-young career, landing at No. 94 on Sports Illustrated’s list.
Objectively, it makes sense that Beasley is in the top 100. He’s averaged 19.9 points per game over 51 games in a Timberwolves uniform and has shot 40.6 percent from deep on 8.5 3-point attempts per game over that same span.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, when Beasley was a back-of-the-rotation contributor to the Denver Nuggets, Beasley has put up 14.6 points per game over 92 contests, including 50 starts.
The challenge in ranking Beasley is the lack of a significant record; he was a solid reserve for a couple of very good Nuggets teams but increased his scoring on bad Wolves teams before missing a good chunk of last season due to a hamstring injury and a suspension.
Additionally, he’s been a poor defender for much of his career, although he showed signs of incremental improvement pre-injury last season.
This ranking feels about right. It’s also important to point out that Beasley is still just 24 years old and in the second year of a four-year contract; don’t be surprised if Beasley rises on this list next year. Even if his shot attempts are down while sharing shot attempts with Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and Anthony Edwards, his efficiency could rise.
Also, if the Wolves improve this season as expected, the league-wide perception of Beasley will continue to change. As we’ve seen over the years, team success absolutely impacts individual player rankings on these lists.
Notable players who Beasley beat out include Utah’s Jordan Clarkson (No. 100), Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton (No. 97), Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. (No. 96), and Orlando’s Jonathan Isaac (No. 95), who missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in the bubble back in 2020.
Beasley ranks behind San Antonio’s Derrick White at No. 93, New York’s Evan Fournier at No. 91, and former Wolf/current Knick Derrick Rose at No. 89. An argument could be made to slide Beasley up a few spots; he probably should be in front of Rose and possibly White, but Fournier’s ranking seems about right.
Next, let’s look at another Wolves player who is making a player ranking list for the first time…