F | 6-6, 227 LBS
2014-15 season: 38 games, 13 starts, 22.8 MPG, 13.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 48.9 FG%, 39.2 3P%, 71.7 FT %
What a ride it’s been for Shabazz Muhammad during his two-year NBA career.
He went from a much-discussed and sometimes ridiculed pick for the Wolves back in 2013. He found himself stuck on coach Rick Adelman’s bench during his rookie season, but he did show glimpses of what he was capable of, including a 20-point, six-rebound performance against Phoenix late in the season.
Heading into the 2014-15 season, nothing was guaranteed as far as playing time was concerned and Muhammad knew it. So Muhammad did something about it, getting himself into incredible shape. He eventually worked himself into the rotation and stepped up in a big way when the team traded veteran Corey Brewer. The combination of Andrew Wiggins and Muhammad on the floor at the same time was a nightmare matchup for opposing defenders.
Unfortunately injuries only allowed Muhammad to play just 38 games. But Muhammad helped solidify his future with the Wolves during those 38 games, showing that he fits in with Wiggins and Zach LaVine, two players that the Wolves plan to build around going into the future.
Top Three Games Of The Season
3.) Dec. 13 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
For only playing in 38 games, Muhammad had plenty of games that could have been ranked in his top three.
At No. 3, we start with Muhammad’s 28-point performance coming off the bench against the Los Angeles Lakers. To make that performance even more impressive, Muhammad did so in just 27 minutes and 26 seconds of play. He also added nine rebounds (four offensive) and an assist. He shot an impressive 12-of-21 from the field and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
As you can see from the shot chart below, Muhammad did most of his work inside, proving that he’s a matchup issue for most wing players in the NBA.
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2.) Dec. 19 at Boston Celtics
Muhammad was in the starting lineup for this one and played a game-high 38 minutes and 17 seconds. He didn’t disappoint. Starting at small forward, Muhammad finished with a game-high 26 points (only two other players on the Wolves hit double-digits in scoring) to go with five rebounds and a career-high five assists. He shot an efficient 11-of-15 from the field, 2-of-2 from deep and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
1.) Dec. 30 at Utah Jazz
Muhammad’s best game of the 2014-15 season came against the team that drafted him (and traded him) back in 2013. Muhammad finished with a career-high 30 points, shooting 10-of-17 from the field 5-of-6 from the three-point line (also a career-high) and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. He also added seven rebounds, two assists and a block.
To put his shooting performance into perspective, he made five of the game’s total 15 three-point makes.
Top Offseason Objectives
Staying In Shape
After his rookie season, Muhammad gave up the Dunkaroos and dropped 25 pounds going into 2014 Training Camp. That weight loss was a combination of his diet and his workouts with the man they call “Crazy Frank”.
Muhammad’s body transformation paid off and allowed him to stay in games longer, and match up with opponents at the shooting guard and small forward position.
There was the fear last season after Muhammad got hurt that he would add some pounds, but that wasn’t the case. Muhammad biked during practice and knew that he wasn’t burning as many calories as he was on the court. His eating had to account for that.
The best thing that might have happened for Muhammad is that he saw his hard work pay off. He was very vocal in telling us after the season that he didn’t want to fall out of shape and he would do everything in his power to come into the 2015-16 season in phenomenal shape, including visiting Crazy Frank again.
Range
It’s a well-known fact that the Wolves struggled from the three-point line last season, shooting 33.2 percent, 25th in the NBA.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is the Wolves saw great strides in the range of Muhammad. Muhammad was second on the team, shooting 39.2 percent from deep. This was a small sample size, as Muhammad was just 20-of-51 from deep, the equivalent of 0.5 per game.
Now the goal for Muhammad should be to come into camp with an improvement to his three-point shot and convince head coach Flip Saunders that he deserves more looks, which shouldn’t be too hard considering that Muhammad was 12-of-25 from deep in the month of December before his injury. When Muhammad came out of high school, his shot was a concern. That doesn’t look like it’s the case anymore.
They Said It…
"He's been effective, especially over the last five games. He's always been, in my opinion, a harder worker and he's starting to see the fruits of his labor." – Former Wolves forward Tyrone Corbin on Shabazz Muhammad.