Naz Reid’s Final Step Is Consistency

It may seem like an eternity, but a little over two months ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were returning home after knocking the Golden State Warriors out in five games. The Sunday before the Wolves flew down to Oklahoma City, I asked Naz Reid how much the fan support has meant to him. I asked because his upcoming free agency had been on my mind. Naz Reid towels made an appearance weeks earlier at WrestleMania and have popped up on every road trip during the playoffs.

“Fans have been with me since Day 1,” Reid said. “I remember the first game I played, the Brooklyn Nets game my rookie year, and they were rocking with me then. … It’s something you dream of to have the support like that, it’s been phenomenal.”

Fast forward to summer league, and Reid sat in front of me to watch the Timberwolves defeat the Denver Nuggets 94-84. Reid smiled as people congratulated him on his five-year, $125 million contract, which keeps him in Minnesota for the foreseeable future. The love for Reid was surreal. Even on a 115-degree day in Vegas, there were multiple Naz Reid towels waving in the crowd. Any time the crowd got stagnant, a “Naz Reid” chant would erupt from a different corner in the gym.

Even after Anthony Edwards sat next to him, the chants for Reid would continue. The fans’ love for Reid may be the most consistent thing in Minnesota since the Wolves signed Reid as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

No teammate remains from that 2019 squad, meaning Reid is now the longest-tenured Wolves player. With his new five-year deal, he will stay the longest-tenured veteran for the foreseeable future. Minnesota’s bet on re-signing Reid is essentially rewarding a player who has given everything for the franchise. However, it’s also a bet that his ability to become consistent, especially in his shooting, can someday match the love fans give him.

First, to be clear, Naz Reid is a quality NBA player coming off arguably his best season as a pro. His offensive rating of 116.2 was his career best by 5.1 points. His net rating (7.4), assist/turnover ratio 1.68, rebounds (6.0), assists (2.3), plus/minus (4.3), free throw percentage (77.6%), minutes (27.5), and points (14.2) were all career highs.

Reid’s defensive rating (108.8) was the third best of his career, and his 37.9% three-point percentage was the second best. Reid will also be just 26 at the start of the 2026-26 season, meaning he technically is still not in his prime, which most athletes enter in their age 27 season.

With all these positive factors, it’s relatively easy to deduce why the Wolves offered him the contract extension. However, Reid still had one glaring weakness that his detractors always highlight.

His consistency, particularly in shooting, is glaring.

To illustrate this, we can examine box scores and shooting statistics.

For this example, let’s consider a below-average shooting game as one where the shooting percentage is 40% or below, and an above-average shooting game as one where the shooting percentage is 55% or above.

Reid played 80 games in 2024-25. Reid shot that 40% or below mark 29 times, and 25 times above the 55% mark. That means 67.5% of the time, Reid is either really good at shooting or shooting well below his 48.7% career field goal percentage.

For context, Anthony Edwards hit over 55% 15 times and under 40% 28 times, meaning 55.1% of his games were on the extreme. Julius Randle had 32 games on the extremes listed, just 46.37% of his regular-season games.

In the playoffs, Reid had 14 games out of his 15 on the extremes, with 5 games at 40% or under and 9 games shooting 55% or over. Interestingly, in Minnesota’s 9 wins, Reid averaged 55.9% shooting from the field. In the Wolves’ six losses, Reid shot only 45.1%. It’s pretty easy to correlate his good games to wins and his bad games to losses. However, in the regular season, Reid’s numbers were nearly identical in wins and losses.

That may seem counterintuitive. However, it makes sense when you consider that in the playoffs, intensity is heightened to the point where an opposing team’s game plan can likely change if Reid has a bad first half. If he were to start a game cold, his track record shows that he’s likely to remain cold, allowing a team to divert attention away from Reid to a hot hand. We can see that manifest in Reid’s usage percentage rising in losses because the opposing team forces the ball into Reid’s hands.

Four of Minnesota’s six postseason losses came at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had one of the best defenses in NBA history. The Thunder will likely contend in the next few years, and the Wolves decided to build on last season by returning seven of their top eight players in terms of minutes played. The need for Reid to improve his shooting consistency becomes a must.

Reid’s explosive shooting performances can win a postseason game, but his poor shooting performances can make it hard for the offense to score enough to win. With the long-term contract now signed, Reid has cemented his legacy in Minnesota with the fan base. His career trajectory is on a clear rise, and with that rise, hopefully comes consistency.