Timberwolves teammates’ Twitter erupts for Jaden McDaniels

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ plan for small forward Jaden McDaniels seemed, at times, to feature everyone but him. It was never deliberate, mind you. It was merely a game that had so many players, so many things to synch up, and so little time. But perhaps the most impressive performance on the evening was that of Jaden McDaniels. Here’s why:

McDaniels was singled out by Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch as a player who needed to ‘ have the best summer of his life and improve.’ That’s a pretty tall order for any player, let alone a young man who is entering just his third NBA season.

Complicating the matter, even more, McDaniels was not on the list of things ‘to do,’ in the Minnesota Timberwolves debut. You see, Coach Finch had a lot on the plate to figure out, and only one game to do so. That meant that the focus for the Timberwolves was on Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and for the most part, Kyle Anderson, Jaylen Nowell, and Taurean Prince coming off the bench.

McDaniels makes the most of his season debut

That left no deliberate planning to feature or enhance the performance of Jaden McDaniels. In many ways, McDaniels was left to create his own opportunities the entire game. So how did he do?

I’d say pretty well.

McDaniels carried himself with a lot of confidence and energy for the Timberwolves. At times, McDaniels was the player whose single-handed efforts seemed to turn the tide for the Timberwolves. As the Thunder bellowed back with huge scoring runs, it was McDaniels who drew the foul, lined up at the free throw line and sank the two shots to keep the Timberwolves from being routed. In fact, 9 of McDaniels 19 points came from the foul line.

He led the team in minutes (36), steals (3), blocks (2), and in +/1 (+14). Considering the number of NBA All-Stars on the Minnesota Timberwolves roster, that’s proof of just how valuable he is and will be this season for the team.

But how did his teammates react?

Timberwolves teammates’ Twitter reactions to McDaniels

How did his teammates react? They were ecstatic about his success. Check out this one from new teammate Rudy Gobert:

But perhaps the most impressive reaction to McDaniels debut this season was made by point guard D’Angelo Russell:

That’s a pretty strong testimony to the ability of Jaden McDaniels to make things happen on the basketball court. And McDaniels’ ability to impact the game is no longer limited to defense, as his season will feature longer minutes which in turn will have a huge impact on his ability to score points.

Just one game? Sure. I get that. But first impressions are important in almost every situation. Judging by the reactions of his teammates, Jaden McDaniels has made a great first impression this season. So great, in fact, that I expect he will be included in plays in the near future.