It’s the last week of the NBA regular season, and you know what that means: It’s awards season, baby! This week, many NBA writers publicly announce their picks for the major awards like MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and the rest.
At 22-47, the Minnesota Timberwolves will likely get shut out of the league awards. Of course, the exception is Anthony Edwards, who is in the running for Rookie of the Year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hand out some team awards.
Most of the awards are pretty obvious. Karl-Anthony Towns is the team’s MVP. Edwards is Minnesota’s Rookie of the Year. Chris Finch for Coach of the Year, and so on. But there’s one award that’s much more hotly contested than the rest: Most Improved Player.
Surprisingly, there was a lot of improvement from the team with the sixth-worst record in the NBA. Malik Beasley had a breakout season before missing 32 of the last 36 games due to suspension and a hamstring injury. Edwards has shown vast improvement since the All-Star Break. And second-year bench stalwarts Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell have solidified their futures in the NBA. But another player slightly edges them out as the most improved, and that’s Jarred Vanderbilt.
The 22-year-old second-round pick played all of 115 minutes across 28 games through his first two seasons. This season, Vanderbilt has worked his way into the regular rotation, starting 28 of his 61 games played. He’s averaging 5.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, one steal, and 0.7 blocks in 17.7 minutes per game.
At 6’9”, 214 lbs., Vanderbilt fills a vital role at power forward. His athleticism allows him to sky for rebounds and gives him a lot of defensive versatility. Vanderbilt is second on the team in true shooting percentage (61.3%, just behind KAT’s 61.5%). He’s second only to Ed Davis on the Timberwolves with a 17.3 rebound rate. Vando’s 2.6% steal rate ranks him only behind Ricky Rubio, and he’s third on the team with a 3.6 block rate.
His skinny frame and tenacity on the defensive end are reminiscent of a young, wiry Kevin Garnett or a human version of Dennis Rodman. He’s not as gifted as either of those Hall of Famers and has many wrinkles in his offensive game that Finch needs to iron out, but he is already arguably Minnesota’s best defensive player. The Wolves get outscored by 7.2 points per possession when Vanderbilt sits as opposed to just 1.3 when he’s on the court. He has a huge impact on the overall team defense. Minnesota gives up 115.5 points per-100 in non-Vanderbilt minutes. That gets slashed to a fairly stingy 108.3 with Vando patrolling the paint.
He’s not the most skilled forward in the world, but he makes up for that with an insane motor that allows him to make several hustle plays per game.
[videopress dFNjDI9B]He gives Jimmy Butler a taste of his own medicine by stealing his inbounds pass and sprinting down the court for a fast-break layup. Vanderbilt’s 7’1″ wingspan allows him to disrupt passing lanes and deflect 1.7 passes per game. His knack for slithering into position to grab contested rebounds is a big help to a Timberwolves team that ranks 24th in rebound rate.
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When Finch took over as head coach in February, Vanderbilt slowly slid back into a bench role, making way for upstart rookie Jaden McDaniels. But Vando has found his way back to the starting lineup lately and is averaging 7.7 points and nine rebounds in the last three games he’s started. The Wolves are 2-1 in that span, albeit with both wins coming against competition that is intentionally trying to lose.
Vanderbilt, 22, still has room to grow. He will likely never add much 3-point shooting to his repertoire — he has only taken four threes this season and six in his entire career — so he can’t space the floor. This clogs up driving lanes, hindering the offense when he shares the court with Edwards. He needs to work on his post moves if he’s only going to be hanging around the basket and has shown he can add a bit of playmaking and ball-handling to his skill set.
Vanderbilt will likely be slotted behind McDaniels at the 4 going forward, but the pairing of young power forwards will bring a tough defensive presence to a team that badly needs it. Vanderbilt has made a name for himself with the Wolves this year and is more than deserving of being named Minnesota’s Most Improved Player.
