5 reasons why Minnesota Timberwolves boasts NBA Top 5 backcourt
By Bret Stuter
V: Two players who have yet to reach their ceiling
You could make an argument that 26-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell has reached the prime of his NBA career in his seven seasons. But he is only playing in his third and what could be, the final season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite a meltdown against the Memphis Grizzlies, Russell has been a steady performer for the Timberwolves, averaging 18.8 points per game in 30.2 minutes.
The wild card of this duo is 21-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards. He has not even begun to scratch the surface of his NBA career but has still reached a scoring average of 20.3 points per game in 33.2 minutes.
Backcourt tandem who are on the rise
Curiously, the pair have played in the same backcourt for Anthony Edwards’s complete NBA career. While that is only two seasons, it serves to highlight the fact that the two have yet to reach their summit just yet.
Some may point to D’Angelo Russell’s 2018-2019 All-Star season as the likely summit of his career, but I don’t think it stops there. DLo actually played better in the partial season for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2019-2020 season. I think his 2022-23 NBA season will be his best yet.
Why? It’s clear that the Timberwolves front office has endorsed Russell, and they not only built a roster that is extremely competitive, but one that is almost custom-built to help DLo’s season.