Now in his sixth season, Jaden McDaniels’ confidence on the offensive end this year is awesome to see for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Already one of the best wing defenders in the NBA, showing growth on offense (and becoming more consistent) was the next step to becoming his best self.
There will be ebbs and flows during an 82-game season. Right now, McDaniels is in a three-week slump, particularly with his long-range accuracy.
The 3-point accuracy has been decreasing for McDaniels
McDaniels has attempted only one 3-pointer each of the last two games and made them both. That’s nice, but it isn’t the volume that the 25-year-old has shot at all season.
In the previous seven outings, McDaniels made just five of his 29 attempts from beyond the arc (17.2 percent). It has now been nine straight games where McDaniels hasn’t connected on multiple 3-pointers. That was something he did in 10 of his first 17 games.
In those first 17 contests, McDaniels shot a scalding 52.8 percent from 3-point distance. It wasn’t realistic to believe that he could continue at that clip, but the hope was that it was a sign that his best outside shooting season was coming.
Jaden McDaniels is quietly having a breakout season.
— Hot Hand Theory (@HotHandTheory) December 7, 2025
It's not just the ridiculous 3-point shooting (48%🤣), he's improved from all 3 levels while maintaining his elite defense.
The Timberwolves are over 10 points per 100 possessions better when he plays.pic.twitter.com/3b88UWV0zd
It still could be. Nine-game slumps are something that pretty much everyone encounters at some point. Still, it’s a bit concerning for Timberwolves fans because of McDaniels' past inconsistencies from the outside.
Entered the year being seen as not a huge threat from deep
Entering the year, McDaniels made 34.8 percent of his 3-point attempts for his career. In three of his first five years, McDaniels made less than 34 percent. He is also a career 42 percent 3-point shooter in 37 postseason games, though, so it's known that he can be a capable long-distance shooter.
In 31 games this year, McDaniels is just shy of a 50/40/90 season. The 6-foot-9 forward is currently at 50.4 percent from the field, 41.0 percent from 3-point territory, and 86.1 percent from the foul line (both 3-point and free throw percentages would be career-bests). With three more made free throws, McDaniels would be over 90 percent from the charity stripe.
McDaniels is also averaging a career-best 15.0 points (previous high is 12.2 in 2024-25). It would be great to see him be aggressive with the ball on Wednesday afternoon, taking on a struggling Atlanta Hawks team that has given up at least 126 points in seven straight games (and lost them all).