Hours before the Timberwolves tip-off on a nationally televised game, news broke of Donte DiVincenzo’s injury update. It is not good.
After Donte DiVincenzo’s toe injury at the very end of the Golden State Warriors loss last Wednesday, the starting guard has missed the previous two games. The severity of his left toe sprain was announced just hours before the Minnesota Timberwolves tipped off their game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
FROM SHAMS:
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo is out indefinitely due to left big toe injury and will receive additional opinion, sources tell ESPN. DiVincenzo’s foot has been placed in a boot. He was averaging 17.5 points, 4.7 assists, 42% shooting on 3s as a starter in last 6 games.
— Shams Charania Tweets (& Other NBA News) (@shamsbot.bsky.social) 2025-01-20T17:53:59.610696+00:00
The official Wolves public relations team put out an announcement that a MRI revealed a grade 3 sprain of his toe, the most severe type of sprain an athlete can have. As they look for a second opinion, one can only hope that this is not a season-ending injury. This is terrible news, as the seventh-year sharpshooter was just recently inserted into the starting lineup amid a mid-season renaissance. In the 15 games leading up to his injury, DiVincenzo was averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.5 three-pointers made on sterling .450/.437/.853 shooting splits.
This was the play where the injury occurred.
Reported via Timberwolves PR that Donte DiVincenzo will miss Friday’s game vs NYK due to a “Left Great Toe Sprain”
Looks like it happened on the landing after his lay late in the 4Q. He was clearly in some pain during the dead ball, holding his left foot.
How the Wolves respond moving forward will be interesting. Naturally, Mike Conley has been moved back into the starting lineup and has played well in his first two games. His energy has noticeably looked great, as has his stroke from perimeter. Conley has canned 6 of 11 treys while looking more spry in his paint attacks. Additionally, Nickeil Alexander-Walker may also be called upon to take on a larger role, though that could come with mixed results. In the most recent game against the Cleveland Cavalierst game, he was 1 of 10 from the field taking a number of questionable shot attempts. Even 37-year-old Joe Ingles got some of his first meaningful minutes in that match, though it did not go well (Team worst -16 in 9 minutes).
Other players on the roster include Josh Minott, who seems to be losing his favor with Head Coach Chris Finch, and rookie, Terrence Shannon Jr. who’s nursing his own grade two mid-foot sprain. It’s unlikely we’ll see this injury affect the playing time for Luka Garza, Leonard Miller, or Jaylen Clark, though the latter could make the most sense positionally.
However, there’s one player many fans are most excited about having a larger role now.
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
20-year-old rookie, Rob Dillingham, has had increased opportunities in the previous two games. He has played 15.5 minutes with mixed results, though the potential future backcourt mate of Anthony Edwards had some enticing bursts of offensive brilliance. He’s far from a finished product, still has a long way to go on defense, and has made some honest rookie mistakes on the floor. That said, Dillingham’s perimeter scoring and playmaking might no longer be a fun side quest of the season, but a necessity to save the Wolves season if DiVincenzo is out long-term.