You can't say enough good things about Ayo Dosunmu. All offseason long, people nitpicked the contract extension he got, calling him overpaid. It's safe to say that only 10 games into the season, he was well worth that extension. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard has put up All-Star numbers so far this season with Anthony Edwards sidelined.
When Wolves fans got the news that Edwards would be missing a good chunk of time, some classic Minnesota doomerism kicked in. How will the Wolves survive? Is their season already done? I was even a victim to some of that pessimism, but the Wolves are proving me wrong, and arguably the biggest reason why is the play of Dosunmu.
Ayo Dosunmu is playing like an All-Star with Anthony Edwards out
In the six games that the Wolves have been without Edwards so far, Dosunmu is averaging 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on extremely efficient shooting, as he always does. When the Wolves gave him that extension, it was likely because they viewed him as a high-level sixth man. However, he's proving to be much more than that.
Ayo gives the Timberwolves some high-level shot creation and elite rim pressure. All while still providing some needed complementary skills like defense and off-ball shooting. His all-around impact is absolutely at an All-Star level.
While his production isn't quite the 33.3 points per night that the Wolves were getting out of Edwards, it's about as much as you could ask for. Everybody has stepped up, but none more than Dosunmu. The trio of Dosunmu, LaMelo Ball, and Jaden McDaniels is making it so the Wolves are in the thick of the playoff race when both Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo return, and that's all the Wolves could've hoped for,
Dosunmu is signed for approximately 12 percent of the cap from now until the 2030-31 season, and people still have the audacity to call his contract an overpay,
He's the perfect role player. He can scale up to a near All-Star level if that's what is needed, but if not, he is perfectly fine being a backup guard who is extremely efficient.
The Wolves have the best guard depth in the NBA
Given how well the team has stepped up in Edwards' absence, I'm not sure there's even a debate here. Not only are Edwards a top-five caliber player and Ball an All-Star and All-NBA caliber player, but the guys behind them are elite too. Dosunmu, as aforementioned, is playing like an All-Star, and DiVincenzo, when healthy, is one of the best role players and three-point shooters in all of basketball.
Then, behind them, Bones Hyland is perfectly capable of taking over a game in spurts, as we've seen this season, and Terrence Shannon Jr. can give a team 20 points on any given night.
Dosunmu has to be the poster boy for this, though. From "overpaid role player" to actively saving the Wolves' season should not go unnoticed. He likely won't get an All-Star nod, mostly due to politics, but he absolutely deserves it 10 games in.
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