Jaden McDaniels Is Looking Like Ant’s Right-Hand Man Again

Jaden McDaniels was an offensive liability two months into the season.

He played 29.6 minutes per night in his first 30 games and averaged 9.6 points on 43.1% from the floor (8.9 attempts) and 31.8% from deep (3.7 attempts).

The Minnesota Timberwolves were hopeful that McDaniels could blossom into a fixture of their offense as soon as this year after they parted ways with Karl-Anthony Towns. Last season, Towns poured in 21.8 points on 15.3 field goals and 5.3 3-point attempts. There were more shot attempts to go around – particularly from deep – in KAT’s absence, and McDaniels showed he could benefit from that during last year’s playoffs.

In 16 postseason games, McDaniels averaged 12.2 points on 51.4% from the floor (8.8 attempts) and 42.9% from deep (3.5 attempts).

McDaniels looked poised to have a breakout season offensively. He came out of the playoffs confident and had a more meaningful role waiting for him. However, Jaden’s offense suffered early as Minnesota struggled to find a productive and consistent offense. The Wolves worked through the growing pains of integrating Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo into their ecosystem, and McDaniels got lost in the mix.

Minnesota’s acclimation process impacted everyone. Chris Finch sifted players through different roles. Nobody looked comfortable. Even Anthony Edwards became disgruntled by opposing teams blitzing him on defense because of the Wolves’ lack of shooting.

McDaniels was partly to blame. He shot 33.3% on 87 wide-open 3s (when the nearest defender is six-plus feet away) over the first 30 games. His inability to hit the open ones jammed up Minnesota’s flow on offense, allowing opposing defenses to tilt away from McDaniels and load up on Edwards.

However, Jaden has suddenly morphed an underwhelming start of the season into the most mature stretch of his career since the new year. He’s actualizing Minnesota’s hopes for him at the beginning of the season.

“I think he puts so much pressure on himself over the last couple of years to make shots, make shots, make shots, that he forgot he could do a lot of other things,” Finch told the media before Minnesota’s 121-133 win over the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. “He has got back to doing those things.”

Before January, 58.5% of McDaniels’ attempts were from inside the arc, while 41.5% were from outside. Edwards and Randle are ball-dominant, and Rudy Gobert is only a threat near the basket. Mike Conley shot 44.2% from deep last season and is shooting 39% from 3 this year. Still, the Wolves need all the floor spacing they could get this season. Therefore, it made sense that McDaniels prioritized his long-range shot, especially after he made nearly 43% of his 3s in the playoffs last year.

However, Jaden was shooting 30.3% from deep in the 32 games before the new year. Minnesota created good looks for McDaniels, but they weren’t falling. He showed frustration, probably because his offensive game was one-dimensional at the time. Finch had him usually posted up from 3, and Jaden was inconsistently involved in the offense.

Still, McDaniels continued to impact the game defensively. He guards the opposing team’s best player at an All-Defensive level. However, he’s not the typical 3-and-D wing. The NBA lists Jaden at 6’9”, but he is closer to seven feet, with a 6’11.5” wingspan. He isn’t necessarily strong, weighing 185 lbs., but Jaden has always had the tools to impose himself physically.

This year, he’s playing bigger than he has in the past.

“I be trying to not just shoot 3s,” McDaniels said after leading the Wolves with 27 points in a Jan. 22 win over the Dallas Mavericks. “I am forgetting how tall and athletic I am and just sometimes being stuck on the 3-point line. [It] takes your aggression away. Just continuing to drive, bump people, and do other things just to keep that aggression.”

McDaniels has reinvented his game in 24 games since the new year. He’s averaging 14 points and 6.9 rebounds on 51% from the floor (10.5 attempts) and 38.3% from deep (3.9 attempts).

His new-found success isn’t simply because his 3-point shots are falling. Instead, McDaniels is working to generate offense for himself, and the Wolves are putting him in more situations to be successful. Since Jan. 1, 37.2% of McDaniels’ attempts have come from behind the 3-point line, while 62.8% are inside the arc.

“It’s the most mature basketball that he’s played in every facet,” Finch told the media on Jan. 29. “He is fouling less, composed, rebounding, making all the small plays, playmaking, taking all the good shots, and not getting frustrated when his shot doesn’t go in. He is finding ways to contribute no matter what.”

Finch has always struggled to find ways to get McDaniels more involved in the offense. McDaniels has shown flashes of a second or third-option scorer. But there haven’t been enough attempts to go around between Edwards and Towns – Edwards and Randle this season – to get the former No. 28 overall pick over ten attempts per game. However, he has crossed that threshold since Jan. 1.

“I don’t kind of like put it on myself,” McDaniels responded when a reporter asked him if he put pressure on himself to score more because of Minnesota’s injuries. “I just know I will get more opportunities, knowing that Julius is out. In the back of my head, I know I have to score a little bit, but I don’t try to force stuff or play out of my game.”

The Wolves have been without DiVincenzo since Jan. 15. Randle has missed the last eight games leading up to the All-Star break. When healthy, DiVencenzo and Randle combine for 23.3 field goal attempts, so some of McDaniels’ recent uptick in scoring stems from available shots. However, McDaniels has been playing his best basketball because he’s been aggressive while playing within himself.

“I want to do this every game If I could,” McDaniels said after Minnesota’s win in Dallas on Jan. 22. “I just try to play the same way. I don’t think I play out of how I usually play. Cuts, off the catch, and shooting 3s. Just doing everything. Just staying myself.”

Less than three weeks after setting a career-high in Dallas, McDaniels broke his record on Saturday. He hung 30 points on the Portland Trail Blazers in a 114-98 win where the Wolves were without Edwards, Conley, DiVincenzo, and Randle.

McDaniels thrived offensively against the Mavs and Blazers without shooting 3s. He went 1 of 5 from deep against Dallas (10 of 18 overall) and 0 of 1 against Portland (12 of 17 overall). McDaniels was confident with the ball in his hands, remained an active cutter, and never gave up on the glass. All three aspects have defined his recent play.

More importantly, he was a fixture of Minnesota’s offense in a way that looked sustainable.

The Washington native hasn’t done it by becoming a deadly 3-and-D threat, even though he is shooting 38.3% from deep over the last 24 games. Instead, he’s leaning into his physical tools and playing more aggressively and confidently. In doing so, he’s opened up the rest of his game and unlocked Minnesota’s offense.

It’s uncommon for players to adjust their playstyle like McDaniels has done mid-season. He isn’t doing anything that he couldn’t do in the past. He is simply doing it more and playing with beaming confidence from himself and those around him.

The Wolves have found a groove, owning a 9-4 record since Jan. 22 and taking down the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 116-101 on Friday without Conley, Gobert, DiVincenzo, and Randle.

McDaniels has been a constant to their success on both ends. He turned in another promising showing against OKC, recording 21 points on 9 of 18 from the floor and 1 of 6 from deep. After a disappointing start to the season, the vision of McDaniels being Edwards’ right-hand man long-term is returning to sharp focus.