Naz Reid

Nazreon "Naz" Hilton Reid^[1] (/ˈnɑːz/ NAHZ; born August 26, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Two Words", he played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. Reid won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2024.

Naz Reid

Reid with LSU in 2019
No. 11 – Minnesota Timberwolves
Position	Center / power forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1999-08-26) August 26, 1999 (age 24) Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	264 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school	Roselle Catholic (Roselle, New Jersey)
College	LSU (2018–2019)
NBA draft	2019: undrafted
Playing career	2019–present
Career history
2019–present	Minnesota Timberwolves
2019	→Iowa Wolves
Career highlights and awards
NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2024) McDonald's All-American (2018)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Reid grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and attended Roselle Catholic High School.^[2] Following his senior season, in which he averaged 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, Reid was invited to the 2018 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. During the game, he scored 15 points, had 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block while playing for 20 minutes.^[3] Reid scored 22 points as Roselle Catholic defeated Don Bosco Prep in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.^[4] During his high school career he was a member of the Jelly Fam, an internet movement focused around wild finger roll layups. Nicknamed "Big Jelly", he was known for playing like a big and flashy guard.^[5] He was the only member of the movement to make it to the NBA.^[6]

Recruiting

Reid was a consensus 5-star recruit in high school, ranked the best power forward in New Jersey and the third-best power forward in the U.S., as well as the 22nd-best player in his class by 247 sports. On September 12, 2017, Reid committed to play college basketball at LSU (Louisiana State University), with his friend Matthew McMahon.^[7] Reid later said, "What drew me to the school is Coach Wade, [assistant] Coach [Greg] Heiar, all the other coaches."^[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Naz Reid PF	Asbury Park, NJ	Roselle Catholic (NJ)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Sep 12, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 21  247Sports: 22  ESPN: 12
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "LSU 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018. "2018 LSU Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

College career

Reid made his college debut on November 6, 2018, with 17 points and 6 rebounds in a 94–63 win over Southeastern Louisiana University. Three days later, he scored his season-high 29 points, along with 7 rebounds, and shooting 4–6 behind the arc. Throughout his freshman season, Reid averaged 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. On April 3, 2019, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft and hired an agent, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.^[9]

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2019–present)

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Reid signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on July 5, 2019, on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves' NBA G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Under that deal's terms, Reid would split time between Minnesota and Iowa.^[10] He also played for Minnesota in the 2019 NBA Summer League. On July 17, 2019, Reid signed a multi-year contract with the Timberwolves.^[11] He was assigned to the Timberwolves’ NBA G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, for opening night of the G League season.^[12] Reid made his NBA debut on December 8, 2019, scoring three points in a 125–142 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.^[13] On January 13, 2020, he scored a season-high 20 points in a 104–117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[14]

On February 6, 2021, Reid scored a career-high 29 points, alongside six rebounds and two steals, in a 118–120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[15]

On January 2, 2022, Reid scored a season-high 23 points, alongside 11 rebounds, in a 103–108 loss to the Lakers.^[16] He was a key reserve on a Timberwolves team that qualified for their first postseason appearance since 2018. Reid made his first playoff appearance during the first round of the playoffs on April 16, recording two rebounds in a 130–117 Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.^[17] The Timberwolves lost to the Grizzlies in six games.

On December 16, 2022, during his first start of the season, Reid scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Minnesota to a 112–110 win over the Thunder.^[18] On February 1, 2023, he recorded 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a 119–114 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors.^[19] On March 29, during a 107–100 loss to the Phoenix Suns, Reid suffered a left wrist injury in the fourth quarter. Two days later, the Timberwolves announced that he was diagnosed with a left scaphoid fracture of his left wrist and would be out indefinitely.^[20]

On June 25, 2023, Reid signed a three year $42 million contract extension with the Timberwolves. The extension included a player option for the 2025–26 season.^[21] On March 8, 2024, Reid scored a career-high 34 points during a 113–104 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[22] On April 24, 2024, he received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.^[23]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019–20	Minnesota	30	11	16.5	.412	.330	.698	4.1	1.2	.6	.7	9.0
2020–21	Minnesota	70	15	19.2	.523	.351	.693	4.6	1.0	.5	1.1	11.2
2021–22	Minnesota	77	6	15.8	.489	.343	.765	3.9	.9	.5	.9	8.3
2022–23	Minnesota	68	11	18.4	.537	.346	.677	4.9	1.1	.6	.8	11.5
2023–24	Minnesota	81	14	24.2	.477	.414	.736	5.2	1.3	.8	.9	13.5
Career		326	57	19.2	.496	.371	.717	4.6	1.1	.6	.9	10.9

Play-in

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022	Minnesota	1	0	21.4	.429	.333	.250	4.0	1.0	.0	.0	8.0
Career		1	0	21.4	.429	.333	.250	4.0	1.0	.0	.0	8.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022	Minnesota	5	0	10.8	.412	.429	1.000	2.8	.0	.2	1.2	4.8
Career		5	0	10.8	.412	.429	1.000	2.8	.0	.2	1.2	4.8

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018–19	LSU	34	32	27.2	.468	.333	.727	7.2	.9	.7	.7	13.6

References

1. "Get To Know Him - Summer League Edition | Naz Reid". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
2. Edelson, Stephen. "Asbury Park's Nazreon Reid makes the most of his experiences", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 2015. Accessed July 18, 2018. "It's been a heck of a ride over the past year for Nazreon Reid, the 6-10 Asbury Park native who has had intriguing college coaches since he was in middle school.... When high school began, Reid started making the daily trek up to Roselle Catholic, where the freshman would play for the state's latest powerhouse program."
3. Christie, Sherlon (March 28, 2018). "2018 McDonald's All-American Game: Nazreon Reid represents New Jersey well". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
4. Edelson, Stephen (March 18, 2018). "Boys Hoops: Asbury Park's Naz Reid goes out on top, as Roselle Catholic wins TOC". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
5. Klopfer, Brady (December 16, 2022). "NBA nicknames deserved their own Hall of Fame so we made one". SBNation.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
6. "Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Naz Reid talks, Anthony Edwards meets Adam Sandler". Dunking with Wolves. November 13, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
7. Wells, Adam (September 12, 2017). "4-Star PF Prospect Nazreon Reid Commits to LSU over Arizona". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
8. Whelan Jr., Tim (January 31, 2018). "LSU signee Nazreon Reid honored to showcase skill at McDonald's All-American Game". USA Today. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
9. Embody, Billy (April 3, 2019). "Naz Reid declares for 2019 NBA Draft". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
10. "TIMBERWOLVES SIGN NAZ REID TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA. July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
11. "Timberwolves Sign Naz Reid to Multi-Year Contract". NBA.com. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
12. Lawhon, Danny (November 7, 2019). "New energy and a familiar face bring Iowa Wolves into 2019-20 NBA G League season". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
13. "DAVIS SCORES 50, POWERS LAKERS TO 142-125 WIN OVER T-WOLVES". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
14. "GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER'S FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE LEADS THUNDER". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
15. "THUNDER SCORE 83 IN HALF, THEN RALLY TO EDGE WOLVES 120-118". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
16. "JAMES, MONK HELP LAKERS EDGE TIMBERWOLVES 108-103". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
17. "TIMBERWOLVES STUN GRIZZLIES, GRAB GAME 1 WITH 130-117 WIN". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
18. Reid scores 28 as Timberwolves top Thunder, snap 3-game skid
19. "RUSSELL, EDWARDS HELP TIMBERWOLVES BEAT WARRIORS IN OT". NBA.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
20. "Naz Reid Injury Update". NBA. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
21. "Timberwolves, center Naz Reid agree on 3-year, $42M deal".
22. Cavs outlast Wolves in overtime despite Naz Reid's 34 points
23. "Wolves' Naz Reid named 2023-24 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year". NBA.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.

External links

• LSU Tigers bio