This was recently reported by Michael Scott of HoopsHype that the Minnesota Timberwolves view Jaden McDaniels as “nearly untouchable.” It’s the kind of distinction typically reserved for players north of the All-Star line, but seemingly applied with confidence to McDaniels.
Less than two months into the 2025-26 season, it’s easy to see why the Timberwolves are so comfortable signing McDaniels as a cornerstone: He’s closing in on 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. At 6-foot-1, he offers a dream combination of size, positional versatility, shot blocking, turnover forcing and ball skills.
That ultimately resulted in McDaniels securing All-Defensive Second Team recognition in 2023-2024, with many expressing the belief that he was snubbed in 2024-2025.
What few saw coming in 2025-2026, however, was the kind of leap that seemed beyond the realm of possibility on offense. He played in 22 of Minnesota’s 23 games, averaging 16.0 points, 2.5 assists and 1.6 three-point field goals – compared to previous career bests of 12.2, 2.0 and 1.4.
Not to be confused with just a statistical jump, McDaniels has made genuine progress after a summer spent training with future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard.
Jaden McDaniels is making a real leap to stardom on offense
McDaniels’ increase in scoring is a direct result of him being much more balanced and composed with the ball in his hands. He also seems to have a more specific idea of what he wants to do as the offense focuses on his scoring, with the defense no longer confusing him like before.
According to Jon Krawczynski from The AthleticsBy training with Leonard, McDaniels learned how to prevent opposing defenses from controlling the tempo at which he plays.
“Just don’t let the defense rush you, play at your pace at all times,” McDaniels said of what Leonard told him. “And that’s something that I took from him is just going at your own pace. I don’t want to spend too much because, you know.”
Minnesota has already made consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals with a lesser version of McDaniels, which undoubtedly makes the future with a better version of him intriguing.
Jaden McDaniels learns from Kawhi Leonard about the offense
In addition to increasing his scoring numbers, McDaniels has been much more efficient in the 2025-26 season 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 2025-2026, McDaniels is shooting at an absurd .535/.486/.860 clip — and somehow it’s generally looking sustainable.
McDaniels uses his size to his advantage, shooting over defenders he had previously confused. 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 decline over time, McDaniels’ shift in ideology and methodology regarding how he scores should remain.
McDaniels shoots over the physical defense instead of letting it knock him down. He takes advantage of open looks rather than blowing them, and performs with a focus on making plays he is capable of, both inside and outside the flow of the offense, rather than questioning his skills.
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.
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