Since being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020, Jaden McDaniels has been known for his quiet demeanor and lockdown defense. However, his offensive game has blossomed in recent years (especially this season), and he has always raised his play during the biggest moments. As McDaniels' play has grown, he's also shown the world that he's a fierce competitor and cold-blooded assassin.
Undoubtedly, this first-round series win against the Denver Nuggets propelled McDaniels to new heights in the eyes of the general NBA world, and it cemented his spot as an all-time great in Timberwolves history.
After Game 2, McDaniels now famously called the entire Nuggets team bad defenders. A bold statement that surprised folks, especially given his typically introverted personality. McDaniels emphatically backed it up by averaging 19.25 points for the rest of the series.
Nothing was more impressive than what we just saw, though, a 32-point performance to help the Wolves clinch the series. Of course, the Wolves were missing Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu, which made McDaniels' performance truly remarkable. Without Ant in particular, the Wolves needed a star, and McDaniels gave them just that.
A performance like this after smack-talking the Nuggets will forever be ingrained in franchise history. This is the stuff that legends are made of.
McDaniels' stellar series cements his place in Timberwolves lore, and this is only the beginning of his path to stardom
All series long, McDaniels' aggression stood out. He was attacking mismatches (especially Jamal Murray) relentlessly and scoring at the rim with ease. Furthermore, he was hitting difficult mid-range shots. Game 6 was the perfect culmination of McDaniels' spectacular series and immense offensive growth.
He may have scored 32 points but it felt like he had 50 it was truly a game for the ages.
McDaniels' calling the entire Nuggets team bad defenders was bold. Nevertheless, he was correct in this claim -- as he and the Wolves proved throughout the series that the Nuggets had no answer to Minnesota's speed and athleticism. It felt fitting that after dominating at the rim all series long, the Wolves scored an absurd 64 points in the paint in Game 6.
There's no understating how impressive it was that McDaniels managed to back up his bold claim.
I don't want his own defense to get lost in the mix either. His suffocating pressure on Murray made life challenging for the All-Star point guard. And again, Game 6 was the perfect culmination of everything as Murray shot just 4-for-17 from the field with McDaniels giving him no space to operate.
McDaniels played 45 minutes in Game 6, but his intensity was consistent throughout the entire game.
Far too often, the Wolves have been viewed as simply just Ant's team. Likewise, many folks attributed the Wolves' back-to-back conference finals solely to Edwards. Great complementary players can get lost as time goes on. However, a series like this ensures that McDaniels will forever be remembered, and I'd venture to say that his No. 3 will hang from the rafters one day.
This series was genuinely a game-changer for McDaniels on so many levels.
When it's all said and done, we might look back at this series as the start of McDaniels' true stardom.