LaMelo Ball's arrival will force Terrence Shannon Jr. to make a non-basketball change

The jersey No. 1 has been a popular one for players to choose to wear with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the franchise's history. It’s also the number that LaMelo Ball will be wearing with the Wolves next season. He also wore No. 1 for the last four years with the Charlotte Hornets.

That means Terrence Shannon Jr. needs a new number, as his jersey number was No. 1 in 2025-26. The third-year player could choose to go with a number he hasn't worn yet, or he could go back to the No. 00 that he wore as a rookie in the previous year.

According to Basketball Reference, Ball will now be the 19th player in franchise history to wear No. 1 (Anthony Edwards began his career with that number for his first three years before changing to his current No. 5). That is tied for the most with No. 3, which is currently worn by Jaden McDaniels.

Terrence Shannon Jr. could go back to his rookie number 

It’s unclear whether Ball and Shannon came to some type of agreement, as we often hear about in sports, to allow Ball to acquire No. 1. What is clear, though, is that Shannon now needs a different number.

The soon-to-be 26-year-old played five years in college before being selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. The first three seasons for Shannon in college were spent at Texas Tech for the Red Raiders, where he wore No. 1. His last two years were with the Illinois Fighting Illini, and Shannon wore No. 0 with them.

Now, there already is a No. 0 for the Timberwolves in Donte DiVincenzo. He has worn that number in both of his years with Minnesota and over the entirety of his eight-year NBA career with five different teams. Even though DiVincenzo will be out for much of next season, it seems unlikely that Shannon would even approach him about wearing his long-time number.

So, sorry if you bought a Timberwolves No. 1 Shannon Jr. jersey last season. For those who bought his No. 00 jersey during his rookie year, maybe your jersey will have his current number once again.

If he goes with a third number in three years, well, that's not something you often see in sports. Shannon wouldn't be the first Wolves player to wear three different numbers with the club, though, as Kyle Anderson has worn No. 1, 5, and 12 in his two tenures with the team.

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