Over a year ago, Jaden McDaniels fielded a question on media day asking if he believed Chris Finch that he would see his offensive role increase last year.
“Yeah, I believe every time they tell me,” McDaniels said. “I don’t think anyone’s a liar or anything like that. Yeah, I for sure believe my coaches and stuff are thinking about me and making sure that I get involved and stuff.”
A year later, McDaniels again sat in the same chair and answered a question about being more involved this season offensively.
“I see it’s possible. Just gotta be aggressive during the games and make the most of my opportunities when I do touch the ball.” McDaniels said. “I know, like Ant and Julius, whoever I’m on the court with, we all want to see each other succeed. So I know they don’t have really any problem if I like do stuff or like try to score and things. I actually gotta do it myself and be confident.”
What stood out in this year’s answer to the annual how will you be more involved question is that McDaniels acknowledged that being more involved entails more than just what the coach and team envision for him. He knows he must take responsibility and capitalize on opportunities. It’s a subtle shift from past years, but it could result in McDaniels finally taking the offensive leap that fans believe he is capable of.
Jaden McDaniels was still a solid offensive contributor for the Wolves last year. He finished the season averaging a career high 12.2 points per game on 47.7% shooting and 33.0% from three. McDaniels shot a career high 81.3% from the free throw line. He pulled down a career high 1.6 offensive rebounds and added a career best 2.0 assists, which resulted in a career high in assists to turnovers at 1.72.
His 113.9 offensive rating resulted in the second-best rating of his career, and he posted his third-highest true shooting percentage. While that was an encouraging sign, Minnesota’s offensive rating still dropped by 1.8 points when McDaniels played. He still shot below league average (37.0%) from three, and struggled for large parts of the season.
However, McDaniels’ start to last year dragged down his season statistics. In the first three months of the 2024-25 season, McDaniels posted a 112.7 offensive rating in October, 109.0 in November, and 104.2 in December.
In the 32 games over those three months, McDaniels averaged a negative net rating. He shot just 43.2% from the field, 30.3% from three, and 30.1% off catch-and-shoot opportunities. On shots considered open or wide open by the NBA, McDaniels shot 36.8%.
However, he turned that all around abruptly in January. Over the final 50 games, McDaniels’ Field goal percentage soared to 50.1%, and his three-point shooting rose to a more respectable 34.8%.
Coincidentally, this change occurred as McDaniels started to attack defenses more. He shot 63.5% on shots inside ten feet of the basket; inside five feet, he shot 72.5%. The success inside translated to McDaniels hitting more from outside. He hit 35.9% of his above-the-break three attempts from January to the end of the season.
McDaniels also showed off a paint pull-up jump shot that he executed at a highly efficient level, knocking down 48.1% of the 77 paint pull-up attempts that he took. His offensive success translated to a 55.9% effective field goal percentage, 2.2% better than his season average of 53.7%.
The positive signs of Jaden McDaniels’ offensive growth continued into the playoffs. He posted an offensive rating of 114.8, shooting 51.5% from the field and 38.2% from three-point range. McDaniels would punish teams inside in the playoffs, making 65.8% of shots inside 10 feet. He also found success shooting threes from the corners, hitting 54.5% from the right corner and 38.9% from the corners overall.
McDaniels experienced more success when he was aggressive. He frequently punished playoff teams for hiding a lesser defender on him. McDaniels’ ability to put the ball on the floor, drive to the paint, and make the pull-up paint jump shot became a staple of his offensive diet.
That’s why his sentiment about being aggressive in training camp is such an encouraging sign. Jaden McDaniels’ offense came around when he had to be assertive. In the later months of the season, Donte DiVincenzo, Rudy Gobert, and Julius Randle missed time with injuries, causing McDaniels to rise in the offensive pecking order. The rise caused him to attack more and find his spots as the team needed him to score and shoulder more of the offensive load.
As he carried that extra offensive burden, he saw success, which in turn raised his confidence. More confidence means better shooting for most players, and McDaniels soon was putting together all-around great offensive games, which carried into the playoffs.
The Wolves are banking on eternal growth being the difference between last season’s Western Conference Finals series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and their potential to move past the Thunder and into the finals this season.
Jaden McDaniels showed enough last season to set plenty of career best marks on offense. However, for Minnesota’s bet on stability to pay off, they will need McDaniels to start the 2025-26 season as he finished in 2024-25 and finally take a much-anticipated leap.