Jaden McDaniels is wreaking havoc for Timberwolves on his way to All-Defensive Team recognition

Stephen Noh

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Jaden McDaniels is wreaking havoc for Timberwolves on his way to All-Defensive Team recognition image

A February matchup between the Timberwolves and Mavericks was coming down to the wire. With a shade under 15 seconds left and the Timberwolves up by three points, coaches, players and fans inside the American Airlines Center knew that the ball was going to Luka Doncic.

What they didn't know was that Doncic and the Mavericks were about to get clamped by one of the best wing defenders in the league.

As Doncic called for the ball, Jaden McDaniels used his massive wingspan to tip it into the backcourt. Doncic recovered the ball, passing it back-and-forth with Kyrie Irving. McDaniels and Anthony Edwards swallowed up both of them, eventually forcing a game-winning turnover in a defensive sequence that later went viral.

"I think we have the best perimeter defender in the NBA," Wolves guard Austin Rivers said of his teammate.

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McDaniels isn't a household name among fans, but other players that he's guarded are starting to take notice. Paul George called him one of the most underrated players in the league on his podcast, adding that he is a great defender with "good feet" and "quick hands."

That compliment came a few weeks after McDaniels denied George the ball down the stretch of another close game, sealing yet another win with his defense.

When the stakes for a stop have been at their highest, nobody has been better than McDaniels this season. He sealed a third Wolves win with a huge defensive play, stripping Julius Randle in isolation. He followed that up with a fourth game-saving sequence, staying in Stephen Curry's shirt and forcing a turnover.

McDaniels is undoubtedly blessed with great physical tools, but his biggest strength comes from his mentality. He believes that anyone can become at least average as a defender with the right attitude. He says that what makes him special is "the willingness to give second and third efforts on one play."

McDaniels used that effort to harass Kawhi Leonard into a 7-of-19 shooting performance against him this season, including an impressive block in their last matchup. He refused to be pushed off his spot by Leonard.

"He had bumped me so far off. Some players would let him go up [uncontested]," McDaniels told The Sporting News. "But I was giving another effort."

McDaniels combines his Energizer Bunny effort with excellent technique. He knows how to position his body to prevent players from getting to where they want to go.

"I'll be trying to cut off the first dribble on a closeout, or even an isolation, make them change direction," he said.

McDaniels has developed a unique technique to get opponents off-balance as they drive toward the basket. By using almost a hybrid of Luke Kornet's eclipse contests and the old pulling-the-chair trick in the post, he gets players to lose their footing as they approach the rim.

"Some people, it depends on who you're guarding, they try to get into your body. It's kind of like pulling the chair, but you're guarding them from the side," McDaniels said. "And then at the end, I try to go vertical. I'm so tall. I jump, cover the rim, and they can't see.

"I hear a lot of times when I close out out on people, they can't see the rim when I jump with my hands up."

McDaniels' craftiness and tools have allowed him to become one of the best rim protectors in the league at the wing position. Opponents have shot 6.4 percent worse within six feet when he's defending them, per NBA Stats. That ranks him in the top 86 percent in the league, among defensive stalwarts like Myles Turner and O.G. Anunoby.

McDaniels gets his fair share of blocks at the rim, but what makes him unique is the havoc he wreaks on jump shooters. Most players simply try to get a decent contest on 3-pointers. McDaniels is one of the rare few that oftentimes gets a piece of the ball.

"They for sure are surprised," McDaniels said of those blocks on jumpers. "Sometimes they'll say stuff, little things, like, 'Man, I didn't even see you in my sight line.'

"I had blocked [Jamal Murray's 3-pointers] two or three times. He said, 'Yeah, I've never had my jumper blocked that many times in a game.' People just don't expect it or think I could do it because it's rarely seen. My timing of knowing when they're going to shoot is good."

McDaniels is also elite at sticking to shooters as they weave through multiple screens. He explains his technique of chasing a 3-point threat with a quick trigger like Klay Thompson.

McDaniels' work begins early, "starting right next to" Thompson and keeping his hand on Thompson's back. That allows him to "be attached going through the screens." From there, he shadows Thompson's route.

"It's kind of like playing corner[back] in a way, but from behind," McDaniels said.

Even more than the effort and technique, McDaniels is a good defender because he deeply cares about getting scored on. He picked that trait up by guarding his older brother, Jalen, who plays for the 76ers.

"My brother and my cousins also played. They were always beating me one-on-one outside, trying to punk me. That's where it comes from," McDaniels said. "They was not taking it easy. They was fouling me. I couldn't score. They were scoring on me.

"That's where the competitiveness comes from. I hate it when people score on me. ... It brings back those times when they used to do it to me."

McDaniels hasn't had to feel that frustration as often as others. He's held most of the stars of the league well below their scoring averages throughout the season.

McDaniels has heard the criticisms that NBA players don't play defense anymore. He's not buying it.

"There are games where you hold these players that score 60, 70 points to 10 points, and you never hear about it," he said.  

McDaniels has the receipts to back that statement up. Twelve days after dropping 71 on the Bulls, Donovan Mitchell came into Minnesota and scored 14 on a miserable 5-of-16 shooting.

McDaniels has only two personal goals for the remainder of the season. The first is directed at the awards voters.

"I need to be on one of those [All-Defensive] Teams. First Team, I feel like I have earned it," McDaniels said. "This is the best defense I've played in my career. The things that I'm doing, the players that I guard every night.

"Going from guarding Giannis [Antetokounmpo] to guarding Curry or Dame [Lillard], the versatility of guarding one through four — and the best players on each team, every game, every night."

The second is directed at his matchups.

"I try to ruin their days, ruin their nights."

Stephen Noh

Stephen Noh Photo

Stephen Noh started writing about the NBA as one of the first members of The Athletic in 2016. He covered the Chicago Bulls, both through big outlets and independent newsletters, for six years before joining The Sporting News in 2022. Stephen is also an avid poker player and wrote for PokerNews while covering the World Series of Poker from 2006-2008.