Just before 1:00 am on April 26, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels sat side by side after a 116-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Game 3 victory gave the Minnesota Timberwolves a 2-1 series lead, with Game 4 forty-eight hours later at the Target Center.
Reid had performed well, going 4 for 7 from the field for an efficient 11 points. He had six rebounds and no turnovers while going +10 off the bench for the Wolves. The man seated next to him, McDaniels, had exploded for 30 points on 13 of 22 shooting. Their running mate, Anthony Edwards, chipped in 29 and had yet to come to the podium.
I asked Reid what it felt like to be in the midst of his fourth straight playoff run with McDaniels and Edwards.
“It’s crazy, I mean it just speaks to the growth and just having each other’s back,” Reid said. “We’ve been together for a long time now, we’re like brothers at this point, and I don’t think anything’s going to change that.”
Hindsight is always 20/20; it’s easy for me to say they’d stay together now. Still, looking back, Reid, McDaniels, and Edwards really are like brothers.
Reid’s press conference after Game 3 of the Lakers series was the moment I officially felt confident Reid was re-signing. However, the breadcrumbs have been there all season.
Chris Finch talked about their bond in February.
“They’ve been close since I got here, but it really started in the summers,” Finch said. “They would spend summers here. They almost never went anywhere.”
After the team finishes practice, McDaniels and Reid are always shooting together on the far court. After every single practice, shootaround, and off day. Sometimes Leonard Miller joins. Other times, Joe Ingles. However, McDaniels and Reid were always shooting together.
McDaniels and Reid, brothers, doing the same drills they do in the summer, every day, together.
Often, it’s easy to overlook what players do in practice, or when Reid would go out of his way to praise the Timberwolves fans.
“Yeah, it’s crazy, I just seen some more tattoos the other day,” he said in May. “Fans have been with me since Day 1. 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.”
It’s easy to dismiss an answer like that as an athlete just saying what he’s supposed to say about a fan base. However, like his relationship with McDaniels, it seemed authentic. It seemed honest. It seemed like a guy who truly appreciates the love.
Reid gets love from the fans that even new players to the team notice immediately. Terrence Shannon Jr. spoke on it during the playoffs after someone suggested he got a Naz Reid reaction.
“Nobody gets the Naz Reid treatment,” he said, laughing. “He’s one of a kind. I got a good ovation from the crowd, but it’s nothing like Naz Reid.”
As everyone in the room laughed at Shannon’s honesty, you could see the authenticity in Reid’s smile. Who could even suggest that Shannon could get a Naz Reid reaction? The same smile he gave when he found out people were getting his name tattooed, or when he found out about the “Honk If You Love Naz Reid” sign at Parkway Pizza. He has the same reaction when he sees the towels around the world that bear his name.
It’s been a series of moments this season, workouts, interviews, and smiles that led everyone behind the scenes to be quietly confident that Reid was not leaving Minnesota. Still, until he officially signed his five-year, $125 million extension, there was always some shadow of doubt that maybe Reid could leave.
The options appeared to be there. His hometown Brooklyn Nets had cap space, and the Wolves could have signed and traded him. Still, Reid ultimately chose to stay with his brothers. He chose to stay with his fanbase. He chose to remain in his city. With that choice, he’s also choosing to stay on the path of bringing the Wolves their first championship.
