Jaden McDaniels shot 41.2% from three last season, the best mark of his career. He also took the smallest share of threes in his career. I think that should change, and LaMelo Ball is the reason it can.
McDaniels should shoot more of the shot he already makes, because the Wolves finally have the passers to hand it to him.
The number that got better and the number that didn’t
Here’s his shooting line from Basketball Reference over the last four seasons.
| Season | 3P% | 3PA per game | Threes as share of shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 39.8% | 3.4 | 37.6% |
| 2023-24 | 33.7% | 3.5 | 40.6% |
| 2024-25 | 33.0% | 3.7 | 36.3% |
| 2025-26 | 41.2% | 3.4 | 30.9% |
The accuracy jumped eight points in a year. The volume went the other way. He took 3.4 threes a game, and threes made up 30.9% of his shot attempts, the lowest share of any of his six seasons. His career mark from deep is 35.9%, so a fair skeptic will say 41.2% is a hot year that won’t repeat.
Of his threes last season, 92.2% were assisted, and he made 46.2% of his corner threes. The corner is the shortest three on the floor. 37.2% of his three-point attempts came from the corners, down from 51.2% the year before. He made only 33.5% of his corner threes in 2024-25, so the 46.2% is a big jump on a smaller number of attempts, and I wouldn’t bank on it.
He dunked 65 times last season, up from 51, and his true shooting percentage of .611 matched his career best, per Basketball Reference. His usage rate of 18.5% was also the highest of his career, and his assist percentage of 12.2% was a career best too. With Ball running the offense, I’d rather see McDaniels spend it on catch-and-shoot threes than on making plays.
What Ball changes
Almost all of McDaniels’ threes come off someone else’s pass. I made the case in our piece on Ball and Gobert that he is the passer Minnesota never had for its big man. He averaged 7.1 assists a game in Charlotte last season, per Basketball Reference. The same logic applies on the wing: every time Ball’s drive or pick-and-roll pulls a second defender, the weak-side defender who leaves McDaniels is the one who pays.
Edwards is also moving. He said at media day that he expects to spend more time in the corner now that Ball brings the ball up, which I covered in why Ball taking the offense is media day’s best news. If Edwards is in one corner, McDaniels is in the other or on the wing, and defenders have to pick which of the two to leave.
Two preseason games, same shot
Preseason is a small sample, but McDaniels scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes in the 116-97 win at Milwaukee on October 5, per CBS Sports. On Wednesday in the 123-112 loss to Indiana, he went 6-of-10, including 4-of-6 from three, for 16 points in 21 minutes, per the CBS Sports box score. He had no assists in that game. He’s the one finishing the possession. Ball, in the same game, had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists on 5-of-9 shooting, 4-of-6 from three, per the same box score.
Across the two games that’s 5-of-7 from three. Seven attempts in 36 minutes works out to about 9.3 per 48 minutes, which is about 80% above last season’s pace of roughly 5.2 per 48. It’s the volume I’m arguing for.
How many threes is enough
McDaniels is a 6-9 wing who guards the other team’s best player, and he shouldn’t be hunting shots. But there is room between 3.4 and 5. Move him to five attempts a night at even 38%, below last season’s mark, and he adds roughly 1.9 made threes a game, against 1.4 last year. That is half a made three extra every night, worth 1.5 points a game from threes alone.
His defensive load caps how many shots he can hunt. He played 31.7 minutes a game last year, and he would have to guard power forwards if Ayo Dosunmu starts.
McDaniels is paid $26.2M this season, with $28.0M next year, per our 2026-27 roster and contract guide. That’s a starter’s wage for a player whose best value has been defense. Five threes a night at his accuracy is what a real third option on offense looks like.
Percentages swing, so watch the attempts. Last season’s 3.4 a game left shots on the table for a player who made 41.2% of them. If McDaniels is taking five threes a night by Thanksgiving, Ball is doing what the Wolves traded for.