Terrence Shannon Jr. is proving he's everything Timberwolves fans hoped for

For the last couple of seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves have relied heavily on the contributions of their veterans, and for good reason. Having guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and others on your roster means you are going to get the expertise those players have gained from years and years of competing in this league in your locker room.

But at the end of the day, Wolves fans knew that at some point or another, the youth side of things was going to have to come into play just a bit more than it had been recently. Many of the young players on Minnesota's roster possess legitimate talent, but are seen as more of "untapped potential" type guys. Well, over the last couple of games, one of those players has brought his talents to the forefront of the discussion: Terrence Shannon Junior.

Seen as one of the steals of this past year's draft by many, Shannon is an older rookie at 24 who brings a bit more of a finished product to the court than say, a 19-year old newcomer. He has battled through injuries and spent a decent amount of time in the G League to begin his first year in Minnesota, but now he is getting a real opportunity on the NBA stage for the first time.

Terrence Shannon is a legit difference-maker for Minnesota

Shannon has put together his two best games as a professional the last two times he stepped on the court, against Milwaukee on Wednesday and then against Oklahoma City on Thursday. In the loss to the Bucks, he stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds, six assists, along with a block and a steal. He did it while shooting 57% from the floor. Against the Thunder, Terrence put up a season-high 13 points along with six rebounds.

These numbers are nothing to sneeze at, but the most impressive part of Shannon's performances have been his tenacity. Chris Finch couldn't speak enough about the rookie's impact after the game against the Thunder. "He can stretch the floor, he's a downhill guy, plays with great physicality on the offensive end," Finch said. "Loves to finish with reckless abandon, loves to dunk, and we need that. It's one of the reasons we identified him in the draft ... We wanted somebody who was a little bit more physically and mentally ready to play right away."

It is safe to say that these last two games have felt like a massive reassurance for Shannon and his potential with this team. Between his limited playing time thus far and his injury troubles, questions had begun to pop up around whether he could be what the Timberwolves were hoping for. Now, it seems he is well on his way to doing that.