Professional sports have been around for a long time, but certain things regarding how athletes interact with each other are probably a bit different in 2024 than they were in 1984. Or even 2014, for that matter. The Minnesota Timberwolves are no exception to this.
Going back to the start of the season when the Wolves were undergoing some big time difficulties as a team, a recent article from the Star Tribune's Chris Hine revealed exactly how the team went about figuring those problems out: through the use of a players-only group chat.
Hine explained how in this day and age, a group chat that includes only the players can sometimes operate in place of (or simply be a continuation of) an in-person players-only meeting. Bringing up another recent utilization of this concept within the Timberwolves' locker room, Hine referenced the April 2023 incident on the bench between Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson.
After this disagreement took place on live television, Hine recalled Mike Conley saying that Rudy had already taken to the group chat to apologize. Using this method of communication is nothing new to the Timberwolves' locker room, and they leaned on it again after getting off to a disappointing start to begin 2024-25.
Timberwolves utilized a team group chat
From Hine's article: DiVincenzo said there was a lot of “ownership” taking place in the team’s group chat for what certain players felt they needed to do better. The team could all see it. Then, when they’d meet with coach Chris Finch, they could compare what the player said to what Finch said and see if everyone was on the same page.
It is good to see the players being mature and not being afraid to own up to mistakes to one another. Such actions indicate a desire to win above personal glory, something that will always be necessary for a championship-caliber squad.
Hine also writes: said the group chat can be a way for teams to communicate without the heat of a moment clouding judgment, that “sometimes the worst time to talk about things is right after it happened, and I think that’s what the group chat allows us to do. Knowing they have the group chat to turn to, players can take time from each other and carry on the necessary conversations there when the time is right and feelings have subsided.
Again, a thoughtful way to combat things that could otherwise turn into emotional and unproductive conversations. Hine's article also indicated that several players-only chats exist within the team, not all of them for serious matters. Some guys have formed smaller groups for things like personal interests, group dinners on the road, and even jokes and memes.
Naz Reid indicated that last season was the most active the chat has been since his arrival in 2019, mostly due to Karl-Anthony Towns sending memes to keep everyone loose and light-hearted. Regardless of the fact KAT is no longer around, it is uplifting to see the guys still utilizing this helpful tactic when things are not necessarily operating perfectly.