Kyle Anderson took zero shots from the field in his first game back in a Wolves jersey, despite playing 14 minutes in a win over Memphis on Tuesday night.
It’s only the 42nd instance across the NBA this season of a player going shotless in that much playing time.
It’s unlikely the reserve forward replicates that again this season, but it is the type of player Anderson is. Which is why, when Rudy Gobert was asked what Minnesota missed most playing without Anderson the last season and a half, his answer was rather straightforward.
“I think just passing the ball,” Gobert said. “I’ll be honest … yeah, someone that is looking to pass the ball to his teammates.”
Anthony Edwards noted Minnesota had a distinct need for such a player, citing the number of scorers the Wolves typically trot out in lineups.
“Me, Jaden, Julius, Naz … it’s a bunch of people who want to put the ball in the hoop and can put the ball in the hoop,” Edwards said. “So (it’s helpful) having somebody like him out there who doesn’t care to score and is always looking to pass the ball first.”
And it’s worth adding Anderson isn’t simply a non-scorer who doesn’t want to touch the ball and provides no offensive threat. He’s a creator, akin to a pass-first point guard. That’s the role he frequently fulfilled for Minnesota in the past, and he figures to again in this stint.
Edwards said it was “super fun” being on the floor with Anderson again.
“Because when he played with me two years ago, he always gave me easy shots, backdoors, dribble handoffs,” Edwards said. “He just knows the game. He’s just got a feel for the game.”
Edwards also enjoys playing with reserves Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland, as well, but for a different reason.
The superstar touts the team’s slowest pace, with Minnesota averaging what paces out to 101.57 possessions per game when he’s on the floor. Yet in the 153 minutes Edwards has played with Dosunmu, his pace shoots up to 105.28 – his highest of any two-man lineup. Edwards’ second-fastest pace comes with Hyland (103.62).
The Wolves are ninth in pace this season, and they’re averaging 17.7 fast break points per game since the all-star break, 10th most in the NBA. Edwards said that’s a direct effect of Hyland and Dosunmu.
Edwards admitted he’s “not a fan of playing fast.” Highly-skilled players frequently prefer to slow down and play a methodical brand of basketball that allows them to utilize their full bag of tricks.
“But when I’m in with them, I don’t have a choice,” Edwards said. “Because I always want the ball and they gone (running down the floor), so the only way I got the ball is to be next to them. So yeah, I enjoy playing alongside Bones and Ayo. They fast. They super fast with the rock.”
Minnesota’s bench was a point of concern as the calendar flipped to 2026. The roster doesn’t feature eight starting-caliber players, as it did a year ago. And Minnesota’s young players haven’t developed at the rate needed to be consistent impact contributors.
But through trades and affordable signings, basketball boss Tim Connelly – with the assistance of a new ownership group that ultimately agreed to pay the luxury tax for the second time in two years of team control – has cobbled together a more playoff-suitable bench that not only touts more bankable attributes, but also addresses needs and accentuates the strengths of the team’s top six players.
Connelly signed Hyland off the street in the middle of last season. He dealt a handful of second-round picks and a couple of young players who hadn’t worked out in Minnesota for Dosunmu. He convinced Anderson to sign with the Wolves in the buyout market over rival Denver.
The Wolves are a bigger threat moving forward because of it.
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