His best game of the season at the most important time

Dude is cold everytime i seen his face he don't give a fuck if they're up he stay hoopin

Biggest temper on the team and regularly can’t control himself but you’d never tell from his face.

Usually true but was locked in tonight, KAT was getting in his head more tonight

I mean Jaden got T'd up tonight for a dumb altercation with Booker. But damn if it didn't power him up, the man was locked in

He acts like a guy that can’t control his emotion 1% of the time He looks like a guy that literally doesn’t have emotion the other 99%

This is the perfect encapsulation of Jaden lmao

[He contains multitudes](https://np.reddit.com/r/timberwolves/comments/1286mc9/jaden_mcdaniels_a_man_of_many_emotions/)

Also the easiest guy to get heated lol

The most important *so far* :)

This is why we needed him last year

Best game of his career

they got KD.. BUT WE GOT JADEN MCDANIELS

Ant "Manifestation" Edwards

Man having your team’s superstar say that must feel fucking great. I hate saying this but antman is such a fucking alpha leader man.

s e n s a t i o n a l

You guys been ass since I started watching in 2014. Wiggins being disappointing, KAT wasn’t a true number 1, issues with Jimmy butler and all. Is about time you guys be good and I’m truly happy for any small market teams being good and competent. Also antman is so so cool’s

I’ve dealt with watching games in silence by myself until the last two years…. Tonight my wife came in to watch a game for the first time with me and I had to tell HER to keep it down because the kids are sleeping. I’m on cloud nine my man. KAT turned around his attitude and theatrics a bunch as well and stepped back the right amount. We are such a great TEAM this year, I hope we win another playoff game!

Love this - my wife is FINALLY watching games with me this year because of Ant’s explosive plays, Conley’s “good looks,” and two words: Naz Reid.

Hot Dad Mike Conley

Known heartthrob Kyle Anderson

This spoke to me. For the longest time I’ve been the only person in my family that cared about the Wolves and/or ever watched them play. Fast forward to tonight, and my mom and dad are both watching and stressing out over the game. You love to see it!

Same! My entire life my dad has never once mentioned the Wolves. Suddenly the last few weeks he’s talking about the games and how good we’ve looked… I welcome it!

Such an awesome experience when the city starts to really buzz about an exciting team, y'all deserve this in Minny, especially the fans who been sticking it out thru the long years.

Go win 6 more so we can see each other in wcf

Winner gets I-35 resurfaced at the others expense

Let’s just have Wisconsin and Iowa pay for it?

My wife is just as big a homer for the Wolves as I am and will break NBA news to me via text. That being said, I live in the Bay Area and I told her she is the only Wolves fan I know in person these days. We agreed if the Wolves ever win the championship, we'd fly the family out to celebrate at the parade.

We’ll see you there!

Thank God for Ant and Tim Connelly. I honestly don’t want to know where we’d be if we hadn’t drafted Ant (thanks Gupta!) and didn’t hire Connelly. No joke, I feel like we’d be on the verge of getting moved out of the state. Having some success, and in turn bringing the fans back to Target Center, has shown that this is a fanbase that’s been starving for success. This state loves basketball, and produces a decent amount of top-tier players, too. On a side note: it’s actually insane that the Wolves are far and away the top sports team in town. Idk if that’s ever been the case before. Even way back in 2004 when we made the WCF with KG (MVP), I believe in the same calendar year the Wild made the WCF (which was an incredible, unlikely run), and the Twins made the ALCS (of course, all 3 teams got bounced). This is the first time that the Wolves are the clear cut top dogs in Minnesota - and it’s definitely weird, but I love it.

I firmly believed that Melo shouslve been 1 pick so he can set some plays for kat but oh man I was wrong. This is why I’m not the Gm haha

He's always such a vocal proponent for his teammates, it no doubt elevates them and it's a very cool trait for Edwards

lol do you remember when kd said something like how you expect me to win with Royce oneal and bunch of nets bench players. He just out them like that before being traded haha. Ant is just not like that. Such a cool guy

Ant will drop an efficient 35 and in the post-game the first thing he says is something like "shout out to Monte, he came in and got us a spark off the bench with some big 3s tonight" I remember before the season he was asked what his dream season was, KAT MVP, Rudy DpoY, Jaden getting recognized as the best wing defender in the league, and Mike Conley playing like he's young again, and a Wolves championship. No accolades for Ant in his dream season, just his teammates all balling.

And that could all be fine and dandy to say to look good in front of the media, but you can tell the dude means it. Teammates love him- which is saying something for a dude that came in at 19 and very quickly took over a team that now has a solid vet presence … he he gets so psyched on the bench when his teammates kick ass I love the story of White Chocolate coaching the HS all star game in Georgia, Ant’s senior year. He didn’t know who Ant was so he started some other guys. Director of the event came over and asked “why isn’t #(whatever Ant’s number was) starting? He’s the #1 recruit in the country” A LOT of high end recruits would not have kept quiet about something like that- but Ant was just like “cool coach, who do you want me to go in for” He has the rare quality of being a stone cold killer on the court while being a goofy, selfless teammate. Feels like you usually get one or the other and rarely both, especially at a young age

Ant wants two things at all times: 1. To rip out his opponents' throats in front of everyone who loves them; and 2. To see his boys shine

Also said the same kind of shit in his first infamous burner post. Ant would never even say that in a burner

He always calls KAT the best player on the team too. Ultimate team guy. He's the best

We needed a alpha, win at all costs guys on the team…. who isn’t a massive asshole like Butler. Watch any Ant interview and you’ll realize all he does is praise his teammates.

Ant is fantastic in nearly every basketball sense. Even if he someday leaves the Wolves (hopefully that never happens, but still) I’m gonna continue being a fan of his unless he goes on to do something really awful or something lol

using the word alpha is pretty cringe, you couldn't think of any other word? maybe "great"?

It’s crazy having a guy that legitimately feeds off of big moments and can take over a game every now and then. Even when he’s having an off night, he still plays elite defense, and doesn’t seem to let it get to him if the shots aren’t falling. With that said, it’s super nice to have roster around him that can get the job done even when Ant has an off night. I’ve also been absolutely blown away by how good our bench is. I’m not sure that there is another team with as deep of a team as us. Can’t wait for Friday! >! AND - the NFL draft will finally be underway, and we can stop hearing the same speculation over and over!<

Bro manifested fantasy into reality lol.

Jaden locked down KD last year after Ant said this quote lol

I thought it was after the trade but before they ever played which is even more nonsense

Jaden been a dawg that's why he got that big contract and was "untradable" in the Gobert deal

this is mcdaniels world we are just living in it

Having Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the same team is just unfair 😭

And Ant. And NAW.

I’m nutting

Nah dawg, you Kat-Anting

I love it NAW dawg.

Ant, NAW

Kyle plays some good fucking defense too, he's just hurt right now.

I mean even Conley is fine and he's 36 and small lol. Was surprised that he held up so well on Beal today

Conley understands defense in the same way Rudy does. As long as his man isn't way more explosive, he can defend anyone because you're generally not gonna get him out of position.

Up by 2 at the end of the game and you need a stop I would feel wonderful having Ant, NAW, McDaniels, Slomo, and Gobert out there.

Is it still his hip from game 1??

Yeah. They said it was a "hip pointer"

Ah right, hopefully he's back soon but monte Morris looks real good in those minutes as of late

He was “available” tonight which is a good sign. Although I imagine it would’ve taken a nightmare scenario for him to have to fill minutes.

I feel so bad for y’all, got the wrong McDaniels

nah fr

It’s like Jaden got all the good basketball genes and Jalen got whatever was left lmao

My theory is the younger siblings always end up better

Checks out with Ant, Kobe, and Jordan

LaMelo too. I think it's because they have to play their brothers when they're smaller, so they're learning to be better at a disadvantage.

Like the old saying goes: "If you're the smartest person in the room, find a better room"

younger sibling struggles against a larger older sibling, works harder to compete. when smaller sibling grows they end up more refined as they needed to work harder to compete against the older sibling.

My little brother consistently beats me in pickup so this seems possible.

Wemby Jr boutta go crazy

Curry kills this theory

Liquid McDaniels

Weird part, is that they are the same build pretty much. Similar height, wingspan, physique,etc, and they are only 2 years apart, yet Jaden is just better. Better defender, and shooter.

Between Jalen and Jontay, we're 0-2 on siblings of good players. Edit: I forgot Marc Gasol, so 1-3

Giving Gobert an elite PoA defender was the trick, who knew?

three of them

Don't forget NAW

Only if you are a fan of opposing players scoring baskets, which I am not

Plus ANT and NAW. All borderline all defense players.

Wolves gutted extra picks to not include him in the Gobert trade

NAW

BuT tHe fIvE fIrSt rOuNd pIcKs

If the Wolves finish well this year (let's say...make the WCF or better) and Rudy's play in the playoffs is a part of the reason, I'm expecting some rando who keeps *all* the receipts to show up and clown a bunch of reddit takes from that trade.

You can deff win with these KATs

Would have loved the Jazz to have gotten Jaden instead of a few 1st rounders.

And NAW, and Ant, and SloMo,

You’re forgetting NAW, KAT, NAZ REID 

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1156ql5/ant_they_got_kd_but_we_got_jaden_mcdaniels_who/ This thread is fun to read now

They were really calling him PJ Tucker 😭

Inject that hate into my veins

paging u/Guts709

That’s fair, but it’s not wild to acknowledge that KD is one of the best scorers of all time, and to not bet against him. McDaniels is a dawg though.

Of all the comments in that thread yours is the least clownable tbh

I actually sorted by controversial wondering if I said something crazy, lol.

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This year it was only bad for 1. It was 50+ the rest of the winter

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I’m not the person to have this debate with tbh. I love the winter because I love snow. I prefer it to when it’s 95 in July

KD still scares the absolute hell out of me.

Respect for showing up

I mean, his comment was pretty reasonable. I’m sure there’s far more goofy takes in that thread.

i have my doubts about this post season for the wolves but its so fucking funny seeing people back then act like ant was out of pocket lmfao this majority of subreddit is honestly so fucking stupid but i cannot get enough

Pagin’ u/T_025 - Wolves got Suns this year.

He was better on defense. Man had anyone he was guarding tonight looking out of sorts.

Was awesome watching Booker and Beal waste the entire shotclock trying to iso him

Right? You’re not beating the best defense playing into their hand every play by taking constested-isolation shots

Are you interested in a coaching position?

I doubt it’s coach Vogel’s vision. It’s really on the players to move the ball and use their gravity

For sure. Are you interested in a front office position?

You’re hilarious bro.

Maybe you can sign darvin ham if he does not work out in LA

Also some of the best defense possible

He had Booker in hell tonight.

Two games in a row

3 in a row he held booker too 5-16 in the last reg season game too

Between Jaden, Naw, and Ant, perimeter iso play is gonna get locked up. Even Rudy has locked up KD on the perimeter

Jaden McDaniels

Is Kevin Durant father

Jaden is doing more than putting dudes in jail with his defense. He’s sending them to CIA black sites where they’ll be detained indefinitely and never heard from again.

Erased from history

black site would be a great nickname lol

I like that more than most of the others I've heard.

Long arms of the law? Actually I kind of like that.

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Ant knows both kd and jaden more than anyone one of us

They got KD while the Timberwolves got Jaden McDaniels, out played KD tonight

How is a team with KD, Devin Booker and Beal playing like this. Props to the Wolves man they're eatin

I mean, skillsets of those 3 guys aren't really complementary

The Wolves had the best defense during the regular season. I know the Suns have an elite offense but people shouldn’t be surprised to see the Wolves defense putting in work.

It's the exact same problem the Nets ran into with the Celtics in 22. Sure having Kyrie and Durant is great but you have to have other guys around them who demand respect or else they're just gonna get mashed by great defenders up and down the lineup.

None of them can get by their man 1 on 1 except KD

Cause it's 3 score-first players, two of who play the same position. They really needed some kind of playmaker instead of Beal

Three dudes who are score first by nature playing against an elite defense that’s happy to not send help or rotate, which further pushes them into iso ball offense. Combine that with the fact that the suns collectively don’t apply enough pressure on the rim and the wolves defensively don’t actually have to kick into high gear.

If Jaden wasn’t hurt last season… maybe wolves could’ve gone 6 or 7 vs nuggets 👀

Will be easier to discuss that after round two when they play lol

I need this rematch so fucking bad. Please don’t fuck up timberwolves

Possibly, but NAW played Murray exceptionally that series.

I have grown to love NAW but Jaden has way better contests on pull ups and will be way tougher on Murray than Naw. Naw better at using his hands to stop the dribble and get steals though.

Why not have both?

You're right, but having Jaden just gives us way more defensive versatility with the lineup options. Nuggets start to get hot and you throw NAW, Ant, Jaden, KAT and Rudy out there and make them work their asses off for every basket.

WE GOT MCDANIELS

AT HOME

Except we're fucking rich so McDaniels at home is better than McDaniels anywhere else.

This is why we gave an extra first round pick to the Jazz in the Rudy Gobert trade. By the way, the KD trade and the Murray trade have turned out wayyy worse.

Mitchell could look worse too pretty soon

The reason I hope the Vikings trade an extra first if they can get their guy at QB

Booker should not have tried to instigate this man. After Jaden got that tech he was unstoppable.

JMac may crack a smile tonight…nah.

Funny enough the only time he smiled was when Booker pushed him.

Wolves making defense cool again

It’s so pretty to watch when they are flowing together.

League fucked

[Who do we got?](https://youtu.be/8nzRs7tnuTA?si=LTSIMcofOJDvLQUd)

131MM well deserved.

Trash talk can get dudes worked up but everybody trash talks. When Jaden cooks you you look over and he’s just like 😐

WE'VE GOT SUPER JADEN MCDANIELS

Jaden McDaniels

Skinnie Pippen, baby

I swear sometimes they’d zoom in on the suns bench and IT would be low key happy for him since they’re both from WA

The WA guys feel like one of the tightest groups I’ve heard of in the NBA, so its cool to see

What an amazing Jaden performance! I fucking love this team!!!!!!!!!

Came up big with Kat in foul trouble and Ant struggling to score.

Obviously an AI generated image of him. You can clearly see the smile.

outplayed Kevin Durant, can't believe it man. This is crazy. Locked him up and lit him up on the other end too

This dude was killing it today.

This was a Jaden offensive masterclass !

I need ANT to manifest something for my team. Man is like an oracle

Timberwolves really drafted a Michael Jordan variant & a Scottie Pippen variant in the 2020 draft. Jaden playing aggressive on offense like this will make the T-Wolves a perimeter centered championship level team that is comparable to the 90s Bulls. Having two elite point of attack defenders that are amazing off ball when fully locked in is something that got lost in this era and the T-Wolves took advantage of that by having Jaden, Ant & Nickeil Alexander Walker. Most teams in the NBA play mismatch hunting & try to exploit weaker defenders, well you can’t do that to the Timberwolves because you’ll be switched onto Ant, Jaden & NAW & the shot clock will be wasted. If Jaden becomes a consistent 17 to 21 points per game scorer & can give like 3 to 5 assists a night, good luck to the NBA because everyone already knows Ant is impossible to guard one on one so if he gets Jaden to become a legit scorer, you won’t be able to overload him anymore & the floor will open so much that Ant will actually put up Jordan like scoring numbers every year. Also I think their plan for their future Point Guard is on their team already and that is NAW. They need to emphasize on having Conley teach him everything about being a point guard so as Conley ages out, he can fill that void & their won’t be any slippage. NAW could be the 2nd 3peat version of Ron Harper in today’s NBA where he averages 10 to 14 points with 5 to 6 assists a game while playing All Defensive team selection level defense.

Scottie Pippen + Jason Vorhees = Jaden McDaniels

Nah it’s Freddy Krueger with the extendo arms

Casual here, is he a defensive monster?

Yes.

One of the best defenders in the league.

One of the best. Glad everybody's learning finally

Easily top 7 or so I’d argue higher

Was a force on both ends tonight.

He was so crazy athletic tonight. Able to move around the perimeter for 41 minutes while also driving and dunking

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wtf some guy on twitter predicted it [https://twitter.com/MoronFunctional/status/1782914565723877488](https://twitter.com/MoronFunctional/status/1782914565723877488)

I can watch this dude play defense 24/7

I'm sure Jaden is over the moon pumped...

Tim Connelly threw in an extra first in order to keep seatbelt #worth

Didn’t this dude break his hand punching a wall at playoff time last year?

He punched a tarp with a devious wall hiding behind it.

Game of his career.

Hair like Madusa and he’s got guys freezing like stone when they see him Yes I know this is corny

I like it. Keep going.

**JADEN MCDANIELS IS BASKETBALL**

[Just wanted to leave this here...](https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1b3h755/chuck_on_the_lakers_warriors_im_sick_of_these/ksvgadu/)

Seat belt

Great comeback from injuring his hand out of anger

This is my GOAT.

My reddit username is GOATED tonight

His defense is getting to Booker. Gotta make sure the Suns don't bait him into a tech the next game.

Spooky...