Terrence Shannon Jr.’s rookie campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. After he was picked 27th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Illinois, Shannon joined a roster loaded chock full of experienced and talented guards. Too dominant for the G-League (36.5 points per game), but having scored just 15 career points in the NBA as of February 5, Shannon appeared stuck to the end of the Timberwolves’ bench.
But just when Shannon’s season seemed to have idled, the injury bug bit the Timberwolves and he was thrust into the rotation. Immediately, Shannon began stringing together a series of memorable performances, including a 17-point, 10-rebound showing against Oklahoma City, before he hung a career-high 25 points on the Los Angeles Lakers. He even earned his first start, against the Utah Jazz.
Returning to the back end of the rotation by the time March rolled around, Shannon rarely saw any action to close out the regular season, scoring a measly total of 16 points across March and April, when he also dealt with a nagging groin strain.
Rotation minutes in his first career playoff series seemed like a bridge too far. But when the Timberwolves thrashed the LeBron James- and Luka Doncic-led Lakers by a score of 117-95 in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round series, Shannon saw a few minutes of action – though only in garbage time.
With Los Angeles turning the tables on Minnesota in Game 2, the Timberwolves found themselves in a 22-point hole in the second quarter. Whereas coach Chris Finch had recently turned to other rookie guards Jaylen Clark and Rob Dillingham in similar situations, this time he called on Shannon.
Although his basic stats were easy to overlook, Shannon compiled a plus-minus of plus-seven – the second-highest figure on his squad – in just six minutes and 54 seconds of action. In that stretch, Shannon recorded his first playoffs bucket – a running floater over Doncic.
With the help of Shannon, the Timberwolves cut the lead to 15 by the break and eventually clawed back to make it just a nine-point deficit. They couldn’t quite finish the job, though, instead exchanging buckets with the Lakers late in the fourth quarter and ultimately falling 94-85.
Returning to Minnesota with the series tied 1-1, the Timberwolves appear well-positioned to give the Lakers a run for their money and perhaps even put an early end to the first Luka-LeBron playoff run – a task that may be aided by more valuable off-the-bench minutes from Shannon.
