The Wolves Could Lead the League In Threes This Season

It hasn’t exactly been an offensive revolution during the Chris Finch era in Minnesota. The Minnesota Timberwolves have built a strong defensive identity in the five and a half seasons since Finch took over from Ryan Saunders, but the offense has never fully gelled. The Wolves have finished 7th, 23rd, 17th, 8th, and 13th in offensive rating in the five full seasons Finch has led.

Some good, some bad, mostly unspectacular, and occasionally hard to watch. But if you could trust one thing about a Chris Finch offense this last half-century, it’s that they would never be afraid to bomb away from three.

The Timberwolves led the NBA in three-point attempts in 2021-22. They dipped to 15th in 2022-23 and finished 23rd, 4th, and 17th over the last three seasons while also making many of their threes, finishing 12th, 13th, 3rd, 4th, and 6th in three-point percentage during Finch’s tenure. Anthony Edwards has become a certified assassin from deep in his six seasons in the NBA. Now, after adding LaMelo Ball to the offense, the safety is off, and the Wolves could lead the league in threes this season.

The most threes attempted by one team is 48.2 per game, set by the Boston Celtics during the 2024-25 season. Those Celtics came off a championship run the previous season and won 61 games, finished 10th in three-point percentage, and had the second-best offense in the league. Jayson Tatum led the way, throwing up 10.1 threes per game, followed by Derrick White at 9.1 and Payton Pritchard at 7.8. Joe Mazzulla was a psycho who almost tried to put up a few shots himself. But with the roster Tim Connelly has put together, the Wolves could give Mazzulla Ball a run for its money.

Last season, Ball finished third in the NBA in three-point attempts per game. His 10.3 threes per game was only behind Steph Curry’s 11.3 and Luka Doncic’s 10.8 attempts. Anthony Edwards toned down his three-point shooting to only 8.4 attempts per game, down from 10.3 the year before. That’s the potential for more than 20 threes per game just from the starting backcourt.

Add in Jaden McDaniels’ 3.4 attempts from last season. Add Ayo Dosunmu’s 3.6, Bones Hyland’s penchant for a heat check, Isaiah Evans‘ 7.4 threes per game at Duke last season, and Trey Lyles’ ability to be a stretch four, and you’ve got the makings of a team that can put up some numbers. And that doesn’t even include injured guard Donte DiVincenzo’s 7.9 three-point attempts per game, who could make a comeback toward the end of the season or in the playoffs.

Edwards and Ball are the perfect offensive complements and will relieve pressure on each other when sharing the court. Their presence should create more open threes and significantly boost their three-point rate if they aren’t facing constant double teams.

Jaden McDaniels found a role as a secondary offensive engine last season before taking over against Denver in the playoffs. He shouldn’t be relegated to sitting in the corner in this new offense. The ball should be whizzing around with a real point guard in his prime for the first time in Anthony Edwards’ career, and with that, even the most reluctant Wolves should be able to get shots up with confidence. Jaylen Clark has been working on shooting threes this offseason. Chris Finch unleashed Terrence Shannon Jr. in the playoffs out of necessity, and now he knows how to use him going forward.

It’s going to hurt losing Naz Reid, a 6’9”, 264-pound center with guard handles who hit 36.2 percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts off the bench last season. Julius Randle wasn’t afraid to let it fly from deep, despite making only 31.5 percent of his threes last season. And Mike Conley is no longer there to steady the ship and hit a big three when his number is called.

Starting center Rudy Gobert has only attempted 22 threes in his 13-year career and has never made a three in an NBA game. Joan Beringer is not a three-point threat heading into his second season. And Minnesota’s newest acquisition, Jonathan Kuminga, is a career 33.2 percent three-point shooter on 2.4 attempts per game. It will be tough to set records when two starters and a third of your regular rotation are non-threats to even attempt a three and could clog things up for the shooters.

However, accuracy is on Minnesota’s side. Ant is a career 36.9 percent three-point shooter, averaging eight attempts per game, and hit 39.9 percent of his threes last season. McDaniels shot 41.2 percent from deep last year and should be emboldened to launch more this season. LaMelo made 36.8 percent of his threes last season and 36.5 percent in his six-year career. Dosunmu shot 43.9 percent from three last year and 38 percent for his career. Those four should be able to put up nearly 30 threes per game between them and hit around 38-40 percent. Anything else from the rest of the role players will be gravy.

LaMelo Ball will change how the Minnesota Timberwolves offense functions. By adding a certified rocket launcher as a lead ball-handler, the Wolves could lead the league in three-point attempts this season.