Jaden McDaniels is a man of few words. When he does share his thoughts, they usually come in short sentences, quicker than the footwork he uses to keep his 6-foot-9 frame in front of Ja Morant.
There are few topics that get him to open up, to flash the smile that his teammates see more often behind closed doors. But as his third season progressed and McDaniels started to put his name on the NBA map as a player capable of ruining an All-Star’s night, there was one subject he grew more and more comfortable expanding upon: All-Defense.
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Every night he locked up an opponent’s best offensive player — and there were a lot of those nights this season — McDaniels would invariably be asked about what it would mean to be voted to one of the All-Defensive teams. The stone face that always looks so ruthless would crack and a smile would creep across it as he laid a marker down.
“I do believe I’m the best defender in the NBA,” McDaniels said on multiple occasions this season.
He knew that there were other players on the Timberwolves who needed more shots than he did to affect the outcome of a game. He knew that he was capable of delivering wins in a different fashion. In a game geared so much toward offense, McDaniels knew he was a difference-maker on defense. And he wanted the recognition for that.
The recognition did not come on Tuesday night when the NBA unveiled the voting for the All-Defensive teams. Not only did McDaniels not make the first team, but also he finished a distant sixth among forwards, 41 points behind Toronto’s OG Anunoby, who was the last of four forwards to make the two teams.
Even in the fickle nature of NBA awards voting, it was a stunning result. McDaniels was the only player in the league this season to tally at least 75 blocks and 70 steals. He led all wings in block rate, dropped opponents’ expected shooting at the rim by 7 percent and spent the most time guarding All-Star players of any defender in the league. He played in 79 games in the regular season before missing the playoffs with a broken hand and also posted career highs in scoring (12.1 points per game) and 3-point shooting (.398).
Night-in and night-out, McDaniels was tasked with guarding the most explosive players in the league. Luka Dončić, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, De’Aaron Fox, Morant. Any player under 7 feet tall and 280 pounds was McDaniels’ turf. He took it personally. He wanted that responsibility. And as the season wore on, he let everyone know about it.
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“I like messing peoples’ night up,” McDaniels said in January.
FIRST TEAM ALL-DEFENSE
🔒🔒🔒
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 1, 2023
His ability to guard 1-4 made him one of the most versatile and unique players in the league, an essential part of a Wolves defense that finished 10th in the league in defensive rating. Rudy Gobert may have had a down year by his standards (the three-time defensive player of the year did not receive a single All-Defense vote this season), but McDaniels staked his claim as an elite defender.
“It’s been amazing to watch him grow,” Gobert said in March.
There are likely multiple factors that led to his snub. And make no mistake, this is a snub. Whenever any awards voting is revealed, the bellyaching begins. Often, the complaints don’t hold much water. Anthony Davis, who has been by far the best defensive player in the playoffs, only got nine votes, likely because he only played 56 games and the Los Angeles Lakers got off to such a bad start. Giannis Antetokounmpo was also left off both teams, finishing fifth among forwards with 60 points. He missed 19 games this season and voters may have skewed their Milwaukee attention more toward Brook Lopez, who was voted first-team All-Defense.
McDaniels? All he did was take on all comers in 2022-23, and earn respect from much of the league along the way. George called him one of the best defenders in the league.
“I heard that before,” McDaniels said at his exit interview last month. “He’s not lying.”
Jaden McDaniels not making an All-Defensive Team is criminal.
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) May 10, 2023
This is where the Timberwolves’ history could have come into play. The Wolves are not on the front burner when it comes to NBA discourse, unless it’s for some dysfunction rippling through the locker room or the organization. Evaluating defense is much more than just looking at numbers on a spreadsheet, so voters really have to watch closely to pick up on a player’s strengths and weaknesses on that end of the floor. The Wolves are often overlooked on the national level, and they took a step back from a wins perspective this season, which likely only aided in voters not paying super close attention to him. Most of the attention given to the Wolves this season was of the negative variety for the Gobert trade, not McDaniels blossoming as a two-way threat.
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Even some of the voters who did want to recognize McDaniels fell victim to bureaucracy. This is the final season in which All-NBA and All-Defense have rosters assembled by positions. Next year, thanks to changes in the new collective bargaining agreement, voting will be positionless. That should be a huge help to McDaniels, who was listed as a forward on the ballot and was not allowed to be placed at guard, even though he routinely guarded the opponent’s best backcourt scorer.
At least one voter — the Ringer’s excellent Michael Pina — said he wanted to put McDaniels on the second team as a guard, but was prevented from doing so. Making McDaniels eligible at both positions this summer, because he guarded BOTH positions throughout the season, could have cleared the way for him to make it. Why he was not eligible at guard but Memphis swingman Dillon Brooks was despite playing with Morant and Desmond Bane is anyone’s guess.
No Jaden is wild
— Mike Conley (@mconley11) May 9, 2023
McDaniels also is trying to break through in an era teeming with NBA talent. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Evan Mobley were the two forwards on the First Team and also happened to be the top two vote-getters for defensive player of the year. McDaniels had a strong argument to be on the Second Team in place of Anunoby, whose Toronto Raptors missed the playoffs entirely. Draymond Green was the other forward on the Second Team, a worthy choice.
With so few spots and so many great defenders, it’s hard to pick. Next season he will be in better position to make one of the teams since he will be competing for one of 10 spots on the two teams, not one of four as a forward.
It is no surprise that McDaniels was quiet while his teammates were taking up the cause on social media. He is not one for bombastic statements or to cry foul after missing out, but this no doubt burned him. He really wanted to earn this recognition, but it will be unlikely to change many of his plans this offseason.
He is already one of the team’s most disciplined workers. If he can continue his emergence on offense and limit his fouling, he will be right back in the conversation again next season. The snub will no doubt serve as motivation for him to improve this summer, which is exactly what the Wolves hope will happen.
“I’m willing to do the things over the summer just to add stuff to my bag, like creating off the 3, shooting the 3 better and playing within the midrange and the paint area,” McDaniels said in April. “Just being super-confident in all that.”
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No one in Timberwolves land was happy on Tuesday when one of the team’s most popular players was snubbed. But if it provides just a little extra kick in the pants for his workouts this summer, it could end up working out for the team in the long run.
GO DEEPER
Timberwolves' path forward centers around Anthony Edwards
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
