Donte DiVincenzo #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Donte DiVincenzo is trying to help lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a championship.
The 28-year-old veteran guard has won three championships since the start of his college career, two with the Villanova Wildcats and one at the professional level with the Milwaukee Bucks. While the Timberwolves have been up and down this season, they're one season removed from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
Obviously, that team was vastly different, considering one of the main pieces of that team was All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns was, of course, traded to the New York Knicks in the deal that sent DiVincenzo and Julius Randle to the Timberwolves. While the personnel is obviously different this time around, Minnesota has the right ingredients to make another deep playoff run this season.
"We're a completely different team than last year," says DiVincenzo in a one-on-one interview with RG. "You're taking one personality, you're adding two different people in. It's a different team."
Fresh off an eight-game winning streak, DiVincenzo says the key will be turning up the team's defense leading into the playoffs, mentioning how the team should improve to a top-three defensive unit if they want to win a championship.
DiVincenzo makes a great point — your shot isn't always going to fall in games, especially ones where defenses play more physically. To counteract that, your own defensive unit needs to tighten up.
The past three NBA champions have ranked within the top eight in defense. However, it's worth noting that DiVincenzo's 2021 Bucks ranked a lowly 22nd in points allowed per game while ranking first in points scored.
With that being said, the point holds true — NBA champions tend to have top defensive units. It doesn't hurt that Minnesota features a four-time Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert and an All-Defensive Second Team selection in Jaden McDaniels.
"When the shots aren't falling, you can get out and transition," says DiVincenzo. "You can get easy layups and you can stay in a game, and at some point, it's going to turn. When it turns, that's when you win the games that, you know, from the outside, you may not be supposed to win. Those are the games that you squeak out in the end and you change the series — it's going to be 3-to-1 versus 2-2."
One of the keys toward ensuring a deep playoff run is Anthony Edwards. One of the NBA's top rising young stars is carrying over his strong play into this season, averaging a career-high 27.6 points per game on 40.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Among the top 15 players in scoring, only Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant are shooting a higher efficiency from beyond the arc. His 270 three-pointers made lead the NBA, and his scoring average ranks fourth.
Edwards is coming off of a Western Conference Player of the Week award after averaging 32.7 points per game on 47.4% shooting, including 38.2% from deep, while leading the Timberwolves to a 3-0 record.
"He is in a conversation of his own," says DiVincenzo when asked who he would compare Edwards to.
"He's so dynamic, and I think the thing with him is, he's adding something to his game every single year. Everybody knows him for getting up, dunking on people, getting downhill. Then he came in this year with a mindset of working on his three-ball, and next thing you know, he is setting records within the franchise in one year."
People have compared Edwards to Michael Jordan due to his athleticism and swagger. However, as DiVincenzo points out, Edwards is a dynamic three-point shooter. While Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, he was never a great three-point shooter. That's something that Edwards has already added to his game at the age of 23.
"And that's just a credit to him and how hard he works," says DiVincenzo of Edwards adding the three-ball to his game. "It's fun. I think every single day he keeps entertainment within our whole team. But he also keeps a level of focus. I think with him being only 23, it's remarkable to be around that."
Considering Edwards is only 23 years old, there are still plenty of years for him to add to his game — which is crazy to think about, as DiVincenzo says.
"There are so many different levels that he can get to and understanding the game in different ways," says DiVincenzo. "It's crazy, though, what he has done in the league so far and how many different notches he still has to get to."
DJ Siddiqi
