Chris Finch reveals which key area Jaden McDaniels has improved in

The Minnesota Timberwolves are a championship contender because of Anthony Edwards, first and foremost. It is no secret that in the NBA, you must have a superstar to reach the mountaintop, and number five has risen to that level for the Wolves.

But beyond the transcendent talent of Edwards, Minnesota of course boasts plenty of other ancillary players conducive to winning a championship. While Donte DiVincenzo is the only rostered Timberwolves player that can boast the title of NBA champion, guys like Rudy Gobert and others are talented enough in their role that the NBA Finals is a real possibility for Wolves fans to hope for.

Another one of those high-level supporting players is Jaden McDaniels. While he has gotten plenty of criticism for his play over the last four years even from Timberwolves fans, the fact of the matter is that McDaniels continues to be a rock-solid supporting piece next to Edwards.

Maybe he is not on the level of a true "co-star," but perhaps he does not need to be. Perhaps the growth he has made to this point is already enough to wow the Timberwolves coaching staff and make them pleased with his progression. Chris Finch's words from Tuesday would seem to indicate this being the case.

Finch raved about McDaniels' improved emotional control

Finch had high praise for his starting small forward. "He's tough, he's salty, he's competitive," Minnesota's coach said. "He's got everything you want. But that's always been there. I think just he's been able to control a lot of ... Emotional control has been way, way better. He's playing out of this world right now at both ends of the floor."

We have certainly seen some solid performances from Jaden in recent outings, but the piece about his improved emotional control likely comes across as the most interesting part of Finch's words. Every young player has to settle in to their emotions at some point to do away with little mistakes, and it sounds like Finch believes McDaniels is getting there.

"Playing physical and aggressive without fouling, staying confident with his offensive game," Finch said. "He's not relying or living and dying with his three-point shot as much, he's finding ways to get other things accomplished." We saw this play out in his 18-point, nine rebound outing against the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday, where he shot 7-for-11 from the floor.

There were always hopes from within the Wolves fanbase that McDaniels would develop into this type of full-fledged superstar alongside Anthony Edwards. But frankly, where he is at right now is more than satisfying. The way he has continued to evolve since jumping into Minnesota's starting lineup two seasons ago has been promising, and he is likely to continue going up from here.