STAFF REPORT

July 13, 2024

Fans of the men’s basketball program and/or Terrence Shannon Jr. shouldn’t have been surprised what was the 23-year-old rookie’s first basket in a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey.

In his first National Basketball Association Summer League game Friday afternoon against the New Orleans Pelicans, Shannon introduced himself to the professional level inside the University of Nevada at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center with a windmill left-handed fastbreak dunk over Yves Missi, a rookie taken six picks earlier than Shannon in the recent 2024 NBA Draft.

Shannon was the best player on the floor Friday afternoon in a game that included Rob Dillingham, the expected starting point guard for the Timberwolves, which advanced to the NBA Western Conference Finals, by finishing Minnesota’s 2024 Summer League debut win with 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting that included three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 28 minutes of action.

As a starter for Minnesota, which won the game 81-74, Shannon had three transition dunks in the first two quarters including one in the second quarter off an open-court steal.

“He is physically ready. We love his downhill ability, physical offensive player, hits first, gets to the free throw line,” Minnesota’s head coach Chris Finch said on the ESPN broadcast while watching his rookie who is likely to be a rotational piece on next year’s roster. “We've been really, really impressed with him so far in the training camp leading up to this and his start is a good one.”

Shannon was a dynamic player on the defensive end of the floor Friday afternoon confirming the scouting report Illinois head coach Brad Underwood had been giving NBA personnel about his first-team All-Big Ten selection.

“I think defensively he’s a stalwart,” Underwood said last month to local media inside the Ubben Basketball Complex in Champaign. “His athleticism. His physicality. I think the one thing that everybody will fall in love with very quickly is his competitive spirit. If you’re playing Uno with him, he’s trying to rip your head off. Let alone on the court.”

Shannon proved his size at a wing position, athleticism and individual playmaking clearly stood out in his Summer League debut, but the 6-foot-6 guard was not satisfied with his performance that followed him dealing with a pre-game illness.

“I feel like that's the first thing I bring to an NBA team is my defense on the ball and like you said, blowing up screens," Shannon told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after the contest. "That's what I rely on. I come into the game defensive-minded, and the offense just translates over."

The Timberwolves play the Indiana Pacers at 4:30 p.m. Sunday on NBA TV and ESPN+. The Pacers currently have former Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili after the 25-year-old spent last year on the Timberwolves G-League team in Iowa. Bezhanishvili did not enter the game Friday in the Pacers Summer League debut as they lost to the Brooklyn Nets 97-95 in overtime.