Shortly after the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Donte DiVincenzo on Oct. 10, 2024, Chris Finch spoke on the value of players like DiVincenzo, who know their role and thrive in it.
“No, I mean those guys are priceless, to be able to fit in, without the ball in their hands, they’re really good,” he said at practice that day. “They’re always cutting and moving with the offense, they’re always thinking a couple plays ahead. … We’ve seen from him just so much game, you know, even more than I thought he had.”
Fast forward a couple of months to Jan. 11, 2025. Finch is speaking about DiVincenzo’s 27-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist game in a frustrating 127-125 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
“He’s been great,” Finch said after the game. “[DiVincenzo has been] pushing the pace, creating. He’s super smart, rebounding at a high level. He had 10 rebounds tonight. He led us in rebounds.”
A couple of months later, on March 14, 2025, Finch again spoke about DiVincenzo after a 118-111 win over the Orlando Magic.
“It’s just a lot of winning basketball, making every type of play,” he said. “Dive on the floor, block, rebound, kick outs, makes a big shot. I’d say he’s doing it all.”
By this point, I’m sure you get the picture. DiVincenzo’s energy has been one of the constants for the Wolves, even when his shooting is inconsistent, and this season has been no different. He has become one of Minnesota’s best on-ball defenders. DiVincenzo forces defenses to respect him at all times, and he has been superb analytically.
Defensively, DiVincenzo has been posting a 110.1 defensive rating, the fourth-best of his career. It’s also 2.6 points better than Minnesota’s team defensive rating at 112.7. When he shares the court with Rudy Gobert, their two-man defensive rating is even more impressive at 106.5, the best of any of the starters’ two-man numbers with Gobert.
The reason DiVincenzo has been so good defensively may seem trivial. He doesn’t seem to have an off switch. He plays with an intensity that is palpable regardless of the situation. If his shot isn’t falling, his defensive intensity is there. At home or on the road, the defense is there. However, he has a better defensive rating at home (108.5) than on the road (111.8). Both rank better than Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards, and even come close to Jaden McDaniels (111.3 season defensive rating).
Quarter by quarter is the same. DiVincenzo sees a slight increase in his rating in the first quarter (113.1). However, for the rest of the game, he posts a defensive rating of 108.6, quickly making up for whatever struggles there were in the first.
DiVincenzo has also become a better shot defender, allowing opposing matchups to shoot just 46.4% from the floor and 36.1% from three. The numbers get significantly more impressive when he’s matched up against a guard and not defending out of position. He holds guards to shooting 42.5% from the field and just 33.3% from three, 5.2% lower than the league average three-point shooting of 38.5%.
DiVincenzo’s improvement on the on-ball side of the defense comes down to two things. First, he has become more adept at dodging screens and getting up into his matchup’s body. That forces the opposing ball handler, who is usually a secondary creator because McDaniels takes the lead guard role most nights, to take a more outside-oriented approach around the screen rather than driving straight to the rim or right by Gobert. In other words, DiVincenzo has found ways to simultaneously avoid the screen while cutting off an offensive player’s path.
The other improvement is being able to defend without fouling. DiVincenzo can contest shots at an above-average level and average the second-most steals per game (1.3) on the Wolves. Meanwhile, he’s only fouling 2.5 times per game, or 2.9 per 36 minutes, which is the fourth fewest fouls per 36 on the roster.
DiVincenzo’s ability to defend well against opponents’ shooting and pick his spots for steals, all without fouling, has made him an impactful and important piece of Minnesota’s defense.
Offensively, DiVincenzo is still a bit of an inconsistent enigma. His offensive rating of 118.9 is the best of his career. His 3.34 assist-to-turnover ratio and his 24.2% assist ratio are also the best marks of his career. In a vacuum, that’s a good thing. However, it has come with a steep decline in usage. His 16.8% usage rate this season is his second-lowest since 2020-21. His true shooting percentage is also the lowest since 2021-22, the season the Milwaukee Bucks traded him to the Sacramento Kings.
The usage seems to align with a different role than the one DiVincenzo had with the Wolves last season. He’s trusted in some games to playmake, evidenced by his career-high 4.1 assists per game. However, much more often, the Wolves seem to rely on him to move without the ball and make the right read or hit shots when the defense dictates.
DiVincenzo has had four games with seven or more assists, but also eight games with two or fewer. Every other game is somewhere between three and six. In certain games, the Wolves use him to set up the offense. However, they more often use him to keep the ball moving and make the correct pass.
That has also largely helped keep his turnovers down. DiVincenzo has only had one game with over three turnovers: the Oct. 22 game against the Portland Trail Blazers, in which he had six. Compare that to the nine games he has had zero turnovers. Changing DiVincenzo’s role froma point guard back to a capable off-ball decision-maker seems to be working out well.
That being said, DiVincenzo’s shooting has been perplexing this season. Teams are forced to play around him and respect him because of his resume as an elite three-point shooter. However, DiVincenzo has been hot and cold this season.
DiVincenzo is averaging eight three-point attempts per game this season, second most on the team. However, his 36.3% average ranks fifth due to the ups and downs and inconsistencies. He has shot 33.3% or worse 15 times this season, including two games where he went 0 for 6 and 0 for 7 from three.
Conversely, he has shot 40.0% or better 17 times this season. The boom or bust nature of his three-point shot has occasionally been a challenge for the Wolves to overcome. Still, due to DiVincenzo’s pedigree, opposing players must guard him like he’s on fire every night.
The defensive improvement and offensive role change have resulted in DiVincenzo becoming one of Minnesota’s most important players. He seems to have settled in on both ends. Shooting aside, he’s playing some of the best basketball of his career.
It resulted in DiVincenzo having Minnesota’s best per-game plus-minus (+6.2). He’s become the perfect Swiss Army knife player, able to do a little bit of everything. However, now that he’s in a role that fits him, he’s excelling. This season, DiVincenzo has been showing everyone he has a lot more game than anyone expected, including Finch.