Over the past two years, Naz Reid’s name has morphed into a mission statement for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Naz Reid.
Jaden McDaniels did not coin it, but his emotionless delivery method embodied the spirit of what has become a phenomenon in the Wolves fan base.
In the home opener against the Miami Heat, it became a rallying cry, raining down from the highest rows of Target Center just like the 3-pointers he splashed through the net. More than 18,000 fans watched their favorite team muddle through three quarters against the Heat while Public Enemy No. 1 watched in street clothes from the bench for the fourth straight time the Wolves played their old nemesis. They delivered a “Where is Jimmy?” chant with a playful mocking of Jimmy Butler. They delivered the “Naz Reid! Naz Reid!” chants with a full-throated volume normally reserved in this building for playoff games.
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Reid basked in the serenade as he dropped 11 of his team-leading 25 points in the fourth quarter, going a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and 2 of 2 from deep to help the Timberwolves to a 106-90 win.
“Especially at this level, it’s something that you dream of,” Reid said. “You never can really imagine something that special. I appreciate every single person that was able to do that for me.”
Reid also had eight rebounds and two steals and was a plus-30 in 28 minutes, 26 seconds of playing time. He was playing so well on a night when the offense was otherwise difficult to come by that coach Chris Finch rode him for most of the fourth quarter, keeping Karl-Anthony Towns on the bench.
For those who were wondering what the Wolves were doing in June when they signed Reid to a three-year, $42 million contract to be their third big, this is what they envisioned: an ultra-skilled, versatile player feasting on players who have no business trying to check him. Finch paired Reid with Rudy Gobert at times Saturday and Towns at other times. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was forced to keep superb defender Bam Adebayo on either Towns or Gobert, opening the door for Reid to lick his chops with Nikola Jović or Jamal Cain in front of him.
HE CAN'T MISS RN
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8cfbebU5p3
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 29, 2023
And when he was face-to-face with Adebayo, well, he cooked then as well.
NAZ REID COMING THRUUUU pic.twitter.com/0M8V66SEV6
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 29, 2023
The Timberwolves needed every bit of it because for the second straight game to start the season, they had a heck of a time getting their offense going against the undermanned Heat, who also played without Caleb Martin and Kevin Love. The Wolves trailed by five after the first quarter.
Towns (5-of-12 shooting with 12 points) couldn’t seem to find a rhythm, and neither could Anthony Edwards, who had just 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting until a flurry of eight points in less than a minute with the game well in hand in the fourth.
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After an ugly loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, the Wolves put an extra emphasis on moving the ball. Yet they managed just four assists in the first quarter and watched the Heat run circles around them with 10 assists on 13 made baskets.
Jordan McLaughlin gave the Wolves a big boost in the second quarter. When he entered, the Wolves had 11 assists on 19 made baskets. By the time he was done during the final 3:59 of the second quarter, the Wolves had five made baskets. Four of them were assisted by McLaughlin. The fifth basket was not because it was a 3-pointer that McLaughlin made.
LET IT FLY, JMAC.
🏹 🏹 🏹 pic.twitter.com/KWO9ZiqPVG
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 29, 2023
Reid also was big on offense in the second quarter with 10 points, but Finch and Gobert said it was Reid’s defense that impressed them the most. Reid spent much of his summer in Minneapolis working out at the team’s practice facility, working with assistant coach Joe Boylan on improving his perimeter defense so he could play alongside Towns or Gobert.
“I thought his defense tonight, particularly chasing and guarding and being up and being impactful, it was awesome,” Finch said. “And his rebounding has taken another leap. Fun to watch him play, for sure.”
The Wolves were outscored by 14 points in the 19 minutes Reid sat. It is no surprise to those who have watched him over the past four seasons that he continues adding to his game. He is one of the team’s hardest workers and an honest critic of his play. Each summer he knows exactly what he needs to improve upon and attacks the weaknesses in his game the same way he attacks the rim when the lane opens in front of him.
Even when his contract was still being negotiated in June, Reid continued to show up at the team’s practice facility, a show of faith that is uncommon among players in his situation. In his heart of hearts, he knew he was where he wanted to be.
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“I wasn’t going anywhere. I love it here, man. It’s special,” Reid said. “It’s definitely a place I want to be and develop. I’ve developed from year one to now. Each and every year, I’ve gotten better, so there was definitely no reason for me to leave, you know?”
The fans and his teammates certainly agree. As Kyle Anderson, who was pivotal in quarterbacking the Wolves offense against the Heat zone in the second half, walked back to the locker room after the game, he uttered, to no one in particular, “Naz Reid is a bad man.”
Even 36-year-old Mike Conley Jr., who had 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, called Reid one of his favorite teammates ever.
“On the court, he’s easy to play with because he just moves and the ball is always just going somewhere, and he doesn’t really think too much as far as what to do with it,” Conley said. “He just dribble, shoot, pass, he’s going right to it. Those guys are really fun to be around. And he’s just a good teammate and a heck of a player.”
When the schedule came out, Timberwolves fans were delighted. They always look forward to the first home game of the season, but to get a home opener on a Saturday night against Butler and the Heat? What could be better? The only thing Wolves fans might enjoy more than cheering Reid is booing Butler, who forced his way out of Minnesota in 2018 and hasn’t hidden his disdain for the organization in the years since, most recently when talking about his career on Heat media day before this season.
“Chicago days, skip a team, the Philly days and then now (Miami),” he said.
This is the fourth straight game Butler has missed against Minnesota. He has not played the Wolves since the Heat were thumped at Target Center on Nov. 23, 2021, when a rowdy crowd put Butler in its crosshairs with some intense heckling. Edwards stared down Butler during a brief confrontation, then dunked Gabe Vincent into oblivion in a win that served as a jumping-off point for a spirited run to the playoffs.
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For a team that has often said it doesn’t do load management, it is a little curious. But the Heat played in Boston on Friday night, making this a tough back-to-back. Butler is 34 years old, so giving him a rest day after playing the night before shouldn’t be a surprise, but it certainly was disappointing for some tuned-up Wolves fans. His résumé, including last year’s improbable run from the Play-In Tournament to the NBA Finals, speaks for itself, though it would be interesting to see the reaction nationally if Towns happened to miss four straight games against the Heat.
Butler blew kisses to the Target Center crowd as they chided him Saturday night. Reid gave all those fans flowers. He mentioned seeing a photo on social media of a sign outside a pizzeria in northeast Minneapolis that read, “Honk if you love Naz Reid.”
“Stuff like that, it doesn’t go unnoticed, and I appreciate all the love,” Reid said.
In his fifth season in Minnesota, Reid now has a coveted corner locker in the Wolves’ locker room, befitting his veteran status. As he got dressed Saturday night, he pulled on a pair of black leather bell-bottom pants, begging the question of whether they were one of his first big purchases after his contract.
“Nah, I’ve always had them,” he said, smiling. “I’ve just waited my turn.”
(Photo of Naz Reid and Jamal Cain: Bruce Kluckhohn / Associated Press)
