For years, the Minnesota Timberwolves relied on pass-first point guard Ricky Rubio. The Spaniard was certainly outstanding at dishing the ball. While he was a good player, he never quite reached the ceiling expected of him after being selected fifth overall in 2009 because he didn’t score enough.
The Timberwolves' new point guard, LaMelo Ball, is also a wonderful passer. His offensive game doesn't mirror Rubio's, though, because he's a much greater scoring threat.
In Monday’s preseason win over the New York Knicks, the Timberwolves' new point guard, LaMelo Ball, took seven shot attempts in 22 minutes—far fewer than Jaden McDaniels (12) and Anthony Edwards (16). While Minnesota should want Ball to feel comfortable enough to be his normally aggressive self, there’s nothing wrong with him having games where he takes the third-most shots.
Ball's shot attempts will fluctuate throughout the year
After the 2026-27 regular season, it would be surprising if Ball wasn’t averaging the second-most field-goal attempts on the team, behind only Edwards. In the five years since his rookie season, Ball led the Charlotte Hornets in shots per game. Edwards is one of the most talented scorers, and Ball should have no problem ceding the No. 1 option role he often occupied in Charlotte.
That said, the Timberwolves aren’t a two-man show. Jaden McDaniels is coming off his best offensive season. He made a career-best 41.2 percent of his attempts from 3-point range in 2025–26. He’s played in only two of Minnesota’s first three preseason outings, but he’s gone 5-for-7 from beyond the arc while also generating shots at the rim.
Jonathan Kuminga sat out Monday, and his first two preseason games haven’t gone all that well. He’s still the same player who averaged 24.3 points in the last four meetings with the Timberwolves during the 2025 Western Conference semifinals. The 24-year-old will have nights when his shot is falling, and the team will feed him often.
If Ayo Dosunmu has some spot starts when the team is shorthanded, he can also score in bunches. Dosunmu can also produce 20-plus-point nights off the bench.
The Timberwolves are seen as a potential top-five offensive team, and it’s not strictly because of Edwards and Ball.
In his six NBA seasons, Ball has never been shy about taking plenty of shots. In four straight years, he has averaged at least 20 field-goal attempts and 10 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. He also played on less talented teams in Charlotte than this year’s Timberwolves squad. His shot-attempt rate decreased somewhat in 2025–26 compared with the previous year, as Ball had more talent surrounding him, led by Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
Ball won’t need to take about 20 shots in every game for the Wolves to win. Minnesota is too good for that to be necessary. Not every game will be the same for the Timberwolves, and Ball has enough ability to run a team’s offense that fans should feel confident he will know how aggressive he needs to be with his shot-taking in each game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google