The Timberwolves have the best record in the league and it is not a fluke. With stars and solid role players up and down the roster, outsiders are now taking Minnesota seriously for the first time in a very long. The Ringer’s top 100 player rankings features five members of the Wolves, including three inside the top 50.
Below is a summary on the five Timberwolves. See the Top 100 Players in the NBA list here.
14. Anthony Edwards
Up from 18 | No. 9 in Trade Value Chart | No. 1 NBA League Pass Value Ranking
Edwards has been electric for the Wolves, leading the team with 26.2 points per game while increasing his rebounds and assists. Minnesota sits on top of the Western Conference (and entire NBA) and Edwards’ leap into superstardom is one of the big reasons. The Ringer says:
You know how we know the leap is real? Those Jordan comps that often get played for laughs? They don’t seem completely ridiculous anymore. The production isn’t quite at Mike levels (whose is?), nor is the decision-making and consistency. But it’s hard to think of another player this good offensively and this gifted athletically who can also turn into a ball hawk on defense virtually at will. The Wolves are Ant’s team now, and while Rudy Gobert and the size and length up and down the roster have them near the top of the defensive leaderboard, it’s the perimeter defense of Edwards and Jaden McDaniels that has the Wolves in title contention for the first time since the KG era. –Justin Verrier
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton (No. 12) is the only player with as little NBA experience as Edwards in the top 20. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has the 22-year0old in his Untouchables category on his trade value chart. Despite single-digit national TV broadcasts, Ant remains a must-see player for any basketball fan with The Ringer declaring him the No. 1 player on their NBA League Pass Value Rankings.
26. Karl-Anthony Towns
Up from 30 | No. 26 in Trade Value Chart
Last season was one to forget for Towns, playing on 19 regular season games because of a torn calf muscle. This season has been a different story as he’s averaging 22.2 points per game while shooting nearly 42% from 3. While his long-term status with the franchise continues to be a topic of conversation, Towns is making the most of this season as he’s on pace to join the elite 50-40-90 club.
46. Rudy Gobert
Up from 66
Gobert is an early favorite to win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award this season. After a rough first season in Minnesota, that raised the heat on the value question of the trade to acquire him, Gobert has started to show why Tim Connelly spent as much as he did last year to get the Frenchman.
The Ringer’s reasoning for Gobert’s ranking:
The Timberwolves’ trade for Gobert certainly looks a lot better now than it did a year ago, doesn’t it? It was still an overpay, to be sure—but at least now Gobert has helped the Timberwolves to the best record in the West and the best sustained regular-season stretch in franchise history. One more Defensive Player of the Year title would be Gobert’s fourth, which would tie him for the most for any player in the award’s history. -Zach Kram
70. Jaden McDaniels
Up from 86 | No. 53 on Trade Value Chart
“Getting past him is a chore,” The Ringer’s Michael Pina writes. “Creating separation is next to impossible. His timing, length, and speed always have to be accounted for, whether he’s on the ball or hiding on the weak side.”
McDaniels is nearing a return after two weeks on the shelf due to an ankle injury. Before his injury, McDaniels formed a smothering one-two punch in perimeter defense alongside Edwards. Simmons has the young forward at No. 53 on his Trade Value Chart, listing him in The Upside Gang tier alongside the likes of the Lakers’ Austin Reaves, top draft picks Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson, and the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren.
94. Naz Reid
Previously unranked
The Naz Reid hype is going national. Reid is breaking onto the list for the first time, coming in at No. 94. He’s averaging 12.6 points per game off the bench and joins KAT as the only 50-40-90 players in the NBA. The Ringer says:
There are a lot of hard jobs in the NBA—the guys who mop up sweat, whoever caters the Wizards’ players-only meetings, Steve Ballmer’s cap guy—but Reid might have the hardest. He has to provide Minnesota with positive play from the bench and click with both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, who happen to be two of the more unique big men leaguewide. Able to switch between the 4 and 5 and capable of pouring in 20-plus points a game or just doing the little things, Reid is like the frontcourt version of Mike Conley or Kyle Anderson—a glue guy who fills in the holes on any given night.
The fourth-year big man is here to stay after signing an extension in the offseason and looks like a perfect fit as the third of the Wolves’ three bigs.
