Even if he’s no longer on the team, Naz Reid will forever be a folk hero in Minnesota. Fans always love an underdog, and that’s what Reid presented. He went from an overweight, undrafted player to having a productive seven seasons while donning a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey.
While adding LaMelo Ball finally gives the Wolves that star-level playmaker they have wanted for years, it stung greatly to have to trade away Reid. Turning 27 years old on August 26, there’s always a chance he could return to the club at some point. Let’s say he doesn’t, though. Would the Timberwolves ultimately decide to hang his No. 11 from the rafters once his playing career is over?
Jack Borman of the Locked on Wolves podcast believes it should be. It’s hard to say what will happen right now, but there certainly is a strong case to be made due to his play and his cultural impact.
The Timberwolves should retire #11 https://t.co/Suo7X0P83S
— Jack Borman (@JackBorman) July 10, 2026
The Timberwolves haven’t retired many numbers
The only numbers currently retired by Minnesota are Malik Sealy’s No. 2, and the No. 6 that has been retired league-wide to honor Bill Russell.
After reconciling with the club, Kevin Garnett’s #21 will be hung from the rafters at some point during the 2026-27 season. Karl-Anthony Towns (No. 32) and Kevin Love (No. 42) will likely be considered as well after they retire, and Anthony Edwards (No. 5) almost undoubtedly will have his jersey retired in the future.
Now, how about Reid? In 2023-24, he became the first Minnesota player to be named Sixth Man of the Year. He helped lead the Wolves to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2024 and 2025. Currently, in franchise history, Reid ranks third in 3-pointers made (731), fifth in blocks (445), sixth in games (483), seventh in rebounds (2,460), and ninth in points (5,745).
His popularity with the fan base is pretty much unmatched. The phrase “Two Words: Naz Reid” was on many T-shirts and other merchandise. Waving a beach towel with his name on it became the cool thing to do, even if it was at an event other than a Timberwolves game. Grown men and women have tattooed his name somewhere on their bodies.
In all likelihood, nobody will object if an announcement comes 10, 15, or 20 years from now that Reid will have his jersey retired by the club. It would be an arena filled with fans waving their Naz Reid towels and thanking a player who meant so much to the state of Minnesota.
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