Highlights

• Naz Reid's versatility has been crucial for the Minnesota Timberwolves, improving his shooting efficiency from deep.
• Despite missing the top seed, the Timberwolves stood out with their league-leading defense and cohesive team chemistry.
• Reid's impact on both ends of the court earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award.

When you think of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first names that will likely spring to mind are the plethora of All-Stars. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert. Maybe even the great veteran point-guard, Mike Conley crosses the mind and stands out.

But, a player who largely went under the radar last season, Naz Reid, who NBA insider Mark Medina states has been ‘great’ at filling in the gaps for his team with his versatility, has finally been given his flowers for his impact off the bench this time around, having just been announced as the deserving recipient of the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

It Takes Everyone, Rotation and All

Despite an injury to Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves maintained the No. 1 defense

For large parts of the 2023-24 regular season, the Timberwolves were one of the best teams in all the NBA, with their defense in particular stifling the opposition, where their defensive efficiency ranked first overall in the league with a 108.4 rating.

While their offensive production was mid-tier, with their 114.6 offensive efficiency ranking a lowly 17th, their defense was so overly impressive that they outscored opposition teams by 6.3 points per 100 possessions across the 82-game season, a mark that was bettered by only the Boston Celtics (11.7) and Oklahoma City Thunder (7.3).

A partial part of Minnesota's success could be attributed to the wealth of All-Stars available to them on the roster, including two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, franchise star Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards, who is fast ascending into stardom as one of the faces of the league himself, and even drawing praise from one of the best to ever grace a basketball court in Michael Jordan.

But it is one of their more understated members of their vastly cohesive group who has had one of the biggest impacts on Minnesota's best season since 2004, the last time they surpassed 50 wins in a season.

Naz Reid, who was just announced as the 2023-24 Kia Sixth Man of the Year recipient after edging out the widely-favored Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings by just a 10-vote margin, has been hugely efficacious on both sides of the ball, and played a huge role in helping the Timberwolves achieve the third seed in the Western Conference, stepping up to the starting line-up when Towns went down with a knee injury which required surgery, back at the start of March.

Though, their recent slide toward the end of the season saw them ultimately miss out on the number one seed by just one game.

Nonetheless, in their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, they currently lead 2-0, and are hoping to take a commanding 3-0 lead when the series moves over to Arizona on Friday, in what they hope is just the next step on their road to going on a deep playoff run, having not progressed past the first-round since their Conference Finals run in the Kevin Garnett era.

Who knows, perhaps they could even go all the way - they certainly have the talent and on-court chemistry to mount a title charge.

Reid ‘Elevated’ His Game

Medina commended the 24-year-old on his efforts this season, highlighting the big's ability to be able to shoot efficiently from behind the three-point line, as well as play well in the post, citing that the Timberwolves felt encouraged by his capacity to be able to seamlessly slot into the starting rotation and adapt to his additional workload when Towns went down with injury.

“Naz Reid has been great. He has been a really good three point shooter, a really good post player. And the good thing for Minnesota was, as much as they missed Karl-Anthony Towns [with injury], Naz Reid had experience with trying to fill in the gaps.

So I think Minnesota has been very encouraged that they've seen Anthony Edwards elevate his game. They've seen Naz Reid elevate his game, and, they've really relied on their depth and team chemistry”.

Reid’s Award-Winning Season

Becomes the first Timberwolves' player to ever win the John Havlicek trophy

One of just 18 players in the league to play in 81 games or more in the 82-game season, Reid's on-court availability has been one of his biggest assets. Thus, it has allowed the Timberwolves to put their trust in him on a consistent basis.

In turn, this player-team trust has paid fruitful dividends for both parties, with Reid averaging career-highs during the regular season in scoring, with 13.5 points per game at 47.7/41.4/73.6 shooting splits, and rebounds off the glass, with 5.2 per contest.

He also established a long-range game, whereby he shot the ball at over 40 percent efficiency from deep for the first time in his career, knocking down 41.4 percent of his 5.0 attempts per outing, also a career-high, and the third-best mark among Timberwolves to attempt more than five three-pointers per game, behind Conley (44.2 percent), and Towns (41.6 percent).

Reid was so consistent that he was virtually just as effective on the court whether he took above the break three-pointers or whether he was jostling in the paint, but outside the restricted area, converting his shot attempts with 41.7 percent accuracy from both spots.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Naz Reid possessed the sixth-most catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game post All-Star break, averaging 6.1 three-point field goal attempts, converting at 43.3%.

Medina mentioned Reid's improved post-play on the defensive side of the ball, where his presence alone saw the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency improve exponentially, whereby they posted a defensive rating of 105.5 when he was on the court, with this number dipping down to 108.2 when he was on the bench, highlighting how much his defensive work contributed to their No. 1 rated team defense.

All in all, there can be few complaints about how much he deserved the recognition of being the league's most impactful bench player, despite just three first-place votes being the difference between Monk overtaking Reid for the award, in what was as close of a Sixth Man of the Year race as we have ever seen.

But, considering the Timberwolves made the playoffs as one of the leading seeds in the West, while the Kings faltered away toward the end of the season and missed the post-season altogether, that alone (though voting takes place prior to the post-season) could swing in Reid's favor for being the sole-deserved winner of one of the league's most coveted individual awards.

All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.