Heading into the season, it was clear that the Minnesota Timberwolves' young players were going to get bigger roles. Conventional wisdom suggested that this would mainly benefit 2024 first-round picks, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. However, Jaylen Clark has looked the most impressive among the Wolves' young players, and he is quickly becoming a clear mainstay of the rotation.
This shouldn't be too shocking, as Clark played the most minutes of this trio last season, and he is an elite defender. Even though Clark is mainly known for his defense (trust me, we'll talk about that), his 5.6 points per game are nearly the most among these young players. Dillingham's 6.0 points edge him in this area. Clark's 16.6 minutes are the most among this group by a slight margin, and for now, he seems to be the team's clear eighth man.
Still, we have only seen the Wolves at full health in the first two games this season, and Chris Finch will soon have some decisions to make.
Jaylen Clark has carved out a clear role in the rotation
For a Wolves team that has struggled with defense (20th-ranked defensive rating), it's impossible to pull Clark from the rotation. If anything, he deserves a bigger role. Clark is an elite point-of-attack defender who can help lessen the burden on Jaden McDaniels. Moreover, Clark can help the Wolves maintain their defensive identity when Rudy Gobert is off the court.
Remarkably, Clark is holding opponents to 37.5 percent shooting and ranks in the 88th percentile for defensive estimated plus-minus per Dunks & Threes. Clark's defensive tenacity makes him a quintessential Finch player. Minnesota has a 108.5 defensive rating with Clark on the court and a 116 without him, which is good for an impressive -7.5 on/off swing.
Tenacious on-ball defense from Jaylen Clark.
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) November 2, 2025
His ability to mimic his opponent's movements is so damn impressive.
Just hounding Collin Sexton. pic.twitter.com/hPl1HHxULq
The question with Clark has always been, can he provide enough offense? He shot just 12.5 percent from 3-point range in the first five games. However, in the past three games, he has been shooting 5-6 (83.3 percent) from beyond the arc. This includes Sunday's game against the Sacramento Kings, where Clark shot 3-4 from deep range and recorded a season-high 11 points.
Clark's offensive role will always be spot-up shooting, and that's still a clear swing factor despite an impressive past three games. If Clark is shooting well, he is truly an untouchable part of the Wolves' rotation. Even outside of shooting, Clark is a high-IQ offensive player; he cuts and crashes the glass well and often makes the extra pass.
It's unclear what the Wolves' rotation will look like when the team is healthy
Shannon has missed three straight games with an injury. With Edwards out for the four games before this, and Clark missing two of the games that Ant was sidelined for, it's still unclear how a fully healthy Wolves rotation will shake out.
After a stellar opening night, Shannon has struggled to find his groove on offense and isn't close to the defender that Clark is. He is averaging just 2.8 points on 23.8 shooting since opening night. It's possible Shannon gets his minutes cut out completely, so Clark can maintain a big role.
Before the season, Finch mentioned that the Wolves' rotation would expand. However, he also noted that the ninth and possibly tenth man would likely be situational. Given this, many people (myself included) thought that Shannon would be the clear eighth man with Clark and Dillingham fighting for situational minutes.
Clark has quickly flipped the script, though, and looks like the team's clear eighth man.