It was recently reported by Michael Scott of HoopsHype that the Minnesota Timberwolves view Jaden McDaniels as, "Close to untouchable." It's the type of distinction that's typically reserved for players north of the All-Star line, but is seemingly being confidently applied to McDaniels.
Less than two months into the 2025-26 season, it's easy to understand why the Timberwolves are so comfortable endorsing McDaniels as a cornerstone: He's nearing a leap to two-way stardom.
It didn't take long for McDaniels to emerge as one of the best and most complete defensive players in the NBA. Standing at 6'9", he provides a dream combination of size, positional versatility, shot-blocking, turnover-forcing, and on-ball proficiency.
That ultimately resulted in McDaniels securing All-Defensive Second Team recognition in 2023-24, with many voicing the belief that he was snubbed in 2024-25.
What few saw coming in 2025-26, however, was the type of leap that seemed out of the realm of possibility on offense. He's appeared in 22 of Minnesota's 23 games, averaging 16.0 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 three-point field goals made—up from previous career bests of 12.2, 2.0, and 1.4.
Not to be confused with a mere statistical leap, McDaniels has made sincere progress following a summer during which he trained with future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard.
Jaden McDaniels is making genuine leap toward stardom on offense
McDaniels' increase in scoring has been a direct result of how much more poised and collected he's been with the ball in his hands. He also appears to have a more specific idea of what he wants to do when the offense focuses on his scoring, with defenses failing to fluster him as they have before.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, McDaniels learned how to prevent opposing defenses from deciding the pace he plays at from working out with Leonard.
“Just not letting the defense speed you up, play at your pace at all times,” McDaniels said about what Leonard told him. “And that’s something I took from him and just staying at your own pace. I don’t want to give out too much because, you know.”
Minnesota has already made consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals with a lesser version of McDaniels, which makes the future with a better version of him undoubtedly intriguing.
Jaden McDaniels learning from Kawhi Leonard on offense
In addition to increasing his scoring numbers, McDaniels has been far more efficient in 2025-26 than he was a season ago. That's an intriguing thought considering he posted a slash line of .477/.330/.813 in 2024-25.
Through 23 appearances in 2025-26, McDaniels is shooting at an absurd clip of .535/.486/.860—and it somehow comes across as generally sustainable.
McDaniels is using his size to his advantage, shooting over defenders he previously would've allowed to fluster him. He's also burying 50.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes after making just 33.2 percent of his attempts in 2025-26.
Even if some of his shooting numbers decrease over time, what should last is McDaniels' shift in ideology and methodology in regard to how he scores.
McDaniels is shooting over physical defense instead of allowing himself to be pushed around by it. He's capitalizing on open looks instead of blowing them, and performing with a focus on making plays he's capable of both within and outside of the flow of the offense instead of questioning his ability.
For a Timberwolves team that has already made back-to-back Conference Finals appearances, a better version of one of the best two-way players in the NBA makes them a real threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.