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2019-20 Was A Season Of Development For Rookie Jaylen Nowell

G | 6’4", 196 lbs

2019-20, with Minnesota: 15 games, 10.1 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 35.8 FG%, 11.5 3P%, 94.1 FT%

2019-20, with Iowa (NBA G League): 26 games, 32.7 MPG, 21.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 49.2 FG%, 43.6 3P%, 73.3 FT%

So it goes for most Second Round picks, Jaylen Nowell's rookie season was one of development and all-around acclimation to the NBA game.

The 6-4 guard from the University of Washington's time was split between the Minnesota Timberwolves and their NBA G-League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. In 15 games with the Timberwolves, Nowell averaged 3.8 points in 10.1 minutes per game. The bright spot of the Seattle native's rookie campaign came on New Year's Day, helping an injury-depleted Wolves side to a near upset in Milwaukee by scoring 12 points in 15 minutes as a reserve against the Eastern Conference's top squad.

With more of a chance to prove himself with Iowa, the Seattle native averaged 21.1 points in 32.7 minutes per contest, highlighted by a 32-point performance shooting 4-of-5 from three-point land in a win against Erie on January 23. 

As a sophomore at Washington, Nowell shot 44% from behind the arc as one of the top college shooters in 2018-19. The rookie struggled to find a shooting rhythm in his first NBA season, but if Nowell can find the same stroke he had as a Husky, he fits well into the team’s three-point heavy system moving forward.