Pablo Prigioni and Rudy Gobert last played basketball against each other on April 8, 2016. The then-38-year-old Prigioni dropped 13 points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out seven assists with just one turnover. He played 42 minutes in a 102-99 win over a spry 23-year-old Gobert.
How do I know this, you may ask?
Well, Prigioni had to remind Gobert when they met in Minnesota.
Prigioni’s role with the Wolves is something of a mystery. He doesn’t do many interviews, speaks briefly when he speaks to FanDuel SportsNet at halftime, and doesn’t have much of a social media presence. However, Minnesota’s players and coaches mention him all the time. Watching him from afar only deepens the mystery of Prigioni.
I’ll try to paint the scene for people who don’t get to attend Wolves practice availability. Wolves public relations lets us back into the dual practice courts of Mayo Clinic Square at the end of Minnesota’s organized practice. When we get back, there are usually a few guys still doing their individual workouts with coaches.
Mike Conley is generally schooling the young guys in a three-point competition. Anthony Edwards is working out behind the divider at the far back court, typically drenched in sweat, working with Chris Hines. Joan Beringer and Kevin Hanson are usually working on footwork. Some players break off to do shooting drills together, and others head back to the locker room.
For about 15 or 30 minutes, it’s pretty chaotic, players coming and going, balls bouncing, and Edwards yelling and laughing so loud it echoes in the gym. Slowly, though, the gym clears out. Competitions end, players finish their workouts, and the media talks to Chris Finch and a couple of players we requested. Everything becomes pretty quiet.
Sometimes, though, the gym empties, and a few die-hard media members are left waiting for a player to interview, who is in a back room getting treatment. As minutes pass and players slowly leave, something happens on the far court, right in front of the weight room.
Prigioni, 48, generally dressed in all grey, appears with a ball. He then runs drills, all alone. He zips to the right corner to take a three, gathers his own rebound, and runs to half court before sprinting to the left corner to shoot another three. Prigioni grabs his rebound and runs to the top to shoot again. He repeatedly does this before working on his gather layups and free throws, mid-range pull-ups, and finger rolls.
Prigioni retired 10 years ago, but he still has a passion for basketball.
I’ve never gotten the chance to ask Prigioni why he runs those drills after everyone else leaves. I imagine it’s to get loose before playing in the developmental game with the players later in the day. Sometimes we wait so long that the game has already started, and Prigioni is usually running point for one of the teams.
However, the drills just fit Prigioni’s mystique. He’s a former four-year NBA veteran who was a rookie at age 35 after a remarkable 14-year career playing in FIBA, Liga, and the Euroleague, totaling 596 games before joining the NBA.
Now, ten years after his career ended, he’s in Minnesota as Finch’s offensive coordinator and one of the Wolves’ most trusted advisers. When they drafted Rob Dillingham, they assigned Prigioni to help him. After they traded for Ayo Dosunmu, it’s Prigioni running through film sessions.
“Pablo did a great job of getting me acclimated to the plays and to the system,” Dosunmu said. “Watching film with him has been amazing.”
Before Minnesota’s 138-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Finch had another task for Prigioni. Instead of the typical film session where a coach points out mistakes, he told Prigioni to create a mixtape of highlights to infuse some positivity into the group.
Gobert attributed that film session to helping the team break out of their two-game slump after they beat the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
“We have to tell Pablo [to] play that mixtape before every game,” Gobert said, laughing, “to remind us who we can be and who we are.”
Gobert also expressed Prigioni’s value to the team behind the scenes.
“I think Pablo is a winner. He’s played winning basketball his whole career. He was a great point guard, and he understands the game really well,” said Gobert. “He’s someone [who], behind the scenes, you can tell he has an edge. I love having those kind of people around as part of our group, part of our family.”
The mixtape might have gotten the Wolves back in the win column. Still, Finch also took the time to explain Prigioni’s importance to his staff.
“We’ve been together long enough now. [Prigioni] knows exactly what we think, what we like to do. He puts his own spin on things,” said Finch. “He’s really grown into having an excellent command of the offense, whether it be in game play calling or film sessions in what to isolate, picking the right themes, and also when to bring the hammer and when to kind of show the good stuff, admittedly we probably hadn’t been showing enough positive plays.”
What’s especially interesting about Prigioni is that his name comes up organically every couple of months within the organization. It’s always regarding him breaking them out of a slump or bringing new ideas into the fold.
For example, here’s Finch speaking on Prigioni last April.
“He’s high-level with player development,” Finch said. “[Prigioni is] one of those guys in the meetings where he’ll always have this different perspective. He’s part ex-player. He’s not afraid to go against the grain. He’ll fight hard for his beliefs. Super supportive. He’s been incredible.”
Just like his post-practice workouts are a testament to his drive and passion, the Wolves trust in him. Finch leans on Prigioni when needed, and Gobert holds him in high regard. Even new Wolves players like Dosunmu are impressed by his basketball intellect.
Prigioni holds a special place with the Timberwolves. For one night at least, they gave him a lot of credit for breaking the bad habits the Wolves have had.
Now comes the true test: Can the Wolves sustain it?
That, just like Pablo Prigioni, is a bit of a mystery.
