Jaden McDaniels Is the NBA’s New King of Trash Talk

The Timberwolves’ forward called his shot against the Nuggets, and was proven right again and again.

McDaniels and the Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets on Thursday night. | Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

“They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels.”

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards first uttered that quote at All-Star Weekend in 2023 shortly after Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns. It was instantly turned into a meme on social media due to the absurdity of Edwards comparing McDaniels—who, at the time, was in his third NBA season and had never even averaged double-digit points per game over his career—to Durant, one of the greatest players of all time. At its core, the moment was just another example of the outspoken Edwards hyping up his normally nonchalant teammate.

But in the Timberwolves’ elimination of the Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, McDaniels spoke for himself—both with his words and his play. 

“He talked all series, and he backed it up all series,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said of McDaniels after Minnesota beat Denver 110–98 on Thursday night in Game 6. “That’s called legitimate tough.”

The Wolves and Nuggets have had a budding rivalry over the last five seasons, matching up in the playoffs three times. The organizations have plenty of overlap, most notably current Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who built Denver’s championship core as their general manager before departing for Minnesota in 2022. 

But McDaniels turned up the rivalry a notch with his comments after Minnesota’s 119–114 win in Game 2 to even the series. When asked to name the Wolves’ offensive game plan in that Game 2 win, McDaniels didn’t sleepwalk his way through media availability with tired sports cliches. Instead, he flat out called the Nuggets bad defenders. All of them.

“Go after [Nikola] Jokić, Jamal [Murray], all the bad defenders,” McDaniels said. “Tim Hardaway [Jr.], Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.”

He then doubled down.

“Yeah, they’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels said. “They don’t got people that can defend the rim. If [Jokić] is there, we’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”

Jaden McDaniels, deadpan delivery, on what worked for the Timberwolves offensively.

Jaden: Go at Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, their whole team.”

Q: They’re all bad defenders?

Jaden: “Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.” pic.twitter.com/Lbjq7je9Fo

— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 21, 2026

He then tripled and quadrupled down on that statement over the final four games of the series.

After he and the Nuggets swapped trash talk leading up to Game 3—Denver coach David Adelman quipped that he hopes McDaniels’s comments would help his podcast numbers—the Timberwolves’ forward went off for 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting in Game 3. Two nights later in Game 4, McDaniels stirred the pot again by breaking an unwritten rule and scoring a layup with one second left on the clock in a 112–96 win, which upset Nikola Jokić and caused a scuffle that resulted in a few fines. 

And after facing the fire in Game 5 and getting booed by Nuggets fans every time he touched the basketball in a 125–113 loss, McDaniels called his shot again. 

“We just ended up losing today, but we’re going to win the next one,” McDaniels said in Denver.

And once again, he was right. McDaniels played a near-perfect game in the Timberwolves’ series-clinching 110–98 victory in Game 6 at Target Center on Thursday night. He scored a playoff career-high 32 points on 13-of-23 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. On defense, McDaniels was primarily matched up against Jamal Murray, who was limited to an uncharacteristic 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

And to top it off, of course it was McDaniels nailing the dagger to end the Nuggets’ season.

With just over one minute to play in Game 6 on Thursday night and the Wolves leading by five points, McDaniels, guarded by Murray, drove past the three-point line and popped a jumper from 19 feet away. He cashed it, and then picked up a steal on the other end to seal the victory.

COLD. pic.twitter.com/Q9IfQrNyLa

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 1, 2026

The Timberwolves were not supposed to win this series. Denver was heavy favorites as it entered the playoffs on a 13-game winning streak. Then, disaster struck as Donte DiVincenzo suffered a season-ending Achilles tear minutes into Game 4. Anthony Edwards sustained a knee injury later that night that forced him to miss the final two games of the series. Ayo Dosunmu, the 43-point hero from Game 4, was a late add to the injury report and missed Game 6.

It wasn’t looking good heading into Thursday night. But the Timberwolves had Jaden McDaniels—trash talk and all.  

“I just didn’t care. I said what I said, I’m not going to say it again, but I just don’t care,” McDaniels said after eliminating the Nuggets in Game 6. “That’s just how I am.”

If there was a Hall of Fame for trash talk, McDaniels would have earned himself a plaque. He talked smack, then backed it up with the best performances of his career and eliminated a three-time NBA MVP and his team’s arch rival.

Playoff legacies aren’t established in the opening round. But McDaniels, the NBA’s new king of trash talk, is well on his way.

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