It took a while to insert him into the postseason rotation, but once Chris Finch finally did, Terrence Shannon Jr. excited the Wolves’ fan base. The 27th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Shannon Jr.’s play in the last three games helped to ease the pain of losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency this offseason to the Hawks. Chris Finch has assured that the 25-year-old will remain in the rotation for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Chris Finch states Terrence Shannon Jr. will be in rotation
Finch recently interviewed with Britt Robson of MinnPost. They discussed a multitude of Wolves-related topics, and Shannon Jr. was brought up.
"Yeah. TJ is solidly in the rotation as we speak, Finch said when Shannon Jr.'s summer league play was brought up. I don’t think there is any debate about that. We need everything he does, from running the floor, getting downhill, playing with force. Defensively, as we talked about earlier, there is definitely (the likelihood of) growth there: It just needs exposure to reps and situations. We need him to rebound better, at both ends. I do believe he’s got some playmaking ability. There were moments last year with the third team, we didn’t have a playmaker for the third team and he just wound up playing it. He could find all the players on the floor."
A sigh of relief from Timberwolves’ fans can be heard throughout Minnesota, with Finch saying he is in the rotation. The 6-foot-6 wing should be one of the primary scorers off the bench for them this season. While he received uneven playing time as a rookie, Shannon Jr. had a three-game stretch where he totaled 59 points in late February.
The rebounding wasn’t awful. Improvement can be made in that aspect, sure, but the Timberwolves are solid as an overall team. They averaged 1.4 more boards per game than their opponent in 2024-25. Per 36 minutes, Shannon Jr. actually averaged more rebounds than Alexander-Walker (5.0 to 4.6).
Although it’s a rather small sample size from his rookie year, Shannon Jr. had an assist-to-turnover ratio slightly above 2 (32 assists to 15 turnovers).
TSJ showcased his scoring ability in conference finals
It wasn’t until Game 3 of the Western Conference finals that Finch decided to expand his rotation by inserting Shannon Jr. into it. Prior to that, the only three reserves receiving non-garbage time were Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid, and Donte DiVincenzo.
Shannon Jr. showcased the scoring prowess he possessed at Illinois in their last 3 playoff outings. He scored nearly a point per minute (35 points in 37 minutes). A strength of Shannon Jr.'s in college was getting to the charity stripe, and he made all 12 of his free-throw attempts in those three games.
Many players in the NBA make that second-year jump as they are afforded more playing time. Shannon Jr. (and perhaps Rob Dillingham) should be the next to join that list.