Underrated Players: Shabazz Muhammad
Many players are groomed from a young age to flourish as professionals in the big stage. Some people are great in college, but do not make it in the NBA. For others, they work hard week in and week out, but controversy and criticism hits their career horribly and they become underrated as a result of this. Every week we at Read Basketball will be looking at players whodon’t get the credit they deserve. In this week’s edition, we look at Shabazz Muhammad of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Name: Shabazz Muhammad
Date of Birth: 12 November 1992 (Age 22)
Height: 6ft 6in (1.98m)
Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Nationality: American
High School: Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nevada)
College: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Draft: 2013/ Round 1/ Pick: 14th overall
Selected by Utah Jazz
Current Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Previous Teams: 2014 – Iowa Energy (D-League)
If Timberwolves are going to develop into Champions soon, then they need fully maximise the potential on their roster. They are the only NBA franchise to not achieve a winning record since the 05/06 NBA season. But more recently, and hopefully in the future, T-Wolves will have something to look forward to, winning.
With Andrew Wiggins stealing the show in Minneapolis in his rookie season, youngsters Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng haven’t been given a lot of credit despite showing what they have in their respective lockers.
Muhammad can become a vital player in the Wolves’ lineup, but still has a lot to prove.
The first 50 games of his debut season included Muhammad only 14 times, for no more than 10 minutes each. When he did play, he struggled with his midrange jumper, long-range shooting, and back-to-the-basket post moves.
After the All-Star break, he was given more of a chance, and in return, he completed 50 percent of his shots, mostly credited from being a beast on the lower left block near the hoop.
Shabazz is a great player in the paint, but it was evident that he needed to work on everything else, even his body. And that’s what he’s done, shed a few pounds but stillgain strength to outwork everybody, and most importantly become a dominant physical force in the open floor.
He’s not a catch-and-shoot option. He’s not known as a long-range shooter. He’s not someone who would isolate like we all saw at UCLA. But he’s the perfect option under the hoop with his intimidating dunks and he is deadly in transition. Following his injury, we don’t know what’s to come, but Flip Saunders and the coaching staff will be hopeful he can contribute.
His athleticism and intimidation on the court is superb, but the statistics and his play style add up to say that he deserves to become a regular starter for 82 games.
Following his intense summer of working out and his attempt at becoming a physical beast, he still continues to work his tail off to get better and better. Muhammad consistently proves to be the first one to retain possession when losing the ball or benefiting the team by drawing a charge.
He’s also very good with the ball. For a team who’s been struggling to find the net, he’s very efficient, with a healthy 48.9% of his shots converting. Muhammad also beats all but one starter for points per game over 36 minutes, with 22.5 points. Kevin Martin only leads Shabazz by 0.2 more points. In addition, Muhammad gets on average, over six rebounds per 36 minutes, with almost half of them being offensive rebounds. Also, his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) surpasses any other starter on the Timberwolves in the last two years, including Kevin Love.
For a team struggling to get wins, it all is because of not having good enough players on the court. Muhammad’s versatility can be vital for an injury prone team like the Wolves. He is also undoubtedly more athletic and more talented than the other small forwards, Damjan Rudež and Tayshaun Prince.
Most importantly, he is young, only aged 22. Michael Jordan didn’t win his first ring until he was 28. He has areas that he needs to work on, like free throws and ball handling, so if he can improve these things while being able to get minutes, he’ll definitely get better.
Shabazz Muhammad isn’t credited enough, when in reality, he’s a great player. He was once considered to be the next Number One pick in the draft. Eventually, controversy and criticism dropped him thirteen places, getting drafted in 14th. Muhammad has the right mindset and is surrounded by the likes of other young players like Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio. Time will tell if he’ll become a regular starter where he should be.