Why Starting Ayo Dosunmu Could Make or Break the Wolves

With Ayo Dosunmu re-signing in the offseason, he will likely be given an opportunity to capture the starting spot, but the fit could make or break the Wolves' season.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu has a case for why he should or shouldn't be in the starting lineup. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the 2025-26 regular season, the Wolves' main starting five played 13:08 together on average per game. Just 27.3% of the total 48 minutes in a game. It may seem insignificant, but the 710 minutes the starting five of Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert logged was 604 more minutes than the second-most used lineup combination. 

In fact, the starters logged more minutes than the Wolves' next six five-man rotations combined. It also held a positive net rating of 7.9, more than double the team's overall net rating of 3.1.

Heading into 2026-27, the Wolves are adding LaMelo Ball to that starting group, but the fifth starter appears to be wide open. With Ayo Dosunmu re-signing in the offseason, he will likely be given an opportunity to capture that spot, but the fit could make or break the Wolves' season. 

The case for why Ayo Dosunmu should start this upcoming season

The case for Dosunmu to start offensively is fairly straightforward. He’s one of the Wolves' five best players, and his ability to knock down threes pairs well with both Edwards and Ball. Dosunmu with McDaniels in the starting lineup also gives the Wolves two elite three-point shooters who both shot over 40.0% from behind the arc, with Dosunmu shooting 43.9%. They are effective in the corners and the wings off the catch and have shown an ability to hit threes at a fairly high volume. 

When Dosunmu is catching the ball and has a help defender rotating to him, theoretically, after an Edwards or Ball drive, he can also drive to the basket. This is important because it keeps defenses in “the blender,” as Chris Finch calls it, and forces teams to continue rotating and scrambling to defend the offense.

After Dosunmu drove off the catch, he showed the ability to be a secondary playmaker. Whether that is dumping the ball off to Rudy Gobert under the basket for a dunk or continuing to swing the ball out to another player to continue the drive and kick actions. Dosunmu averaged 3.6 assists per game, and in 2024-25 he set a career high (4.5) in 30.3 minutes per game.

Perhaps even more valuable than his shooting and ability to drive is his pace of play. His quickness in transition and eagerness to push the pace and to take advantage of defenses are something the Wolves have sorely needed. It also blends well with the frenetic pace Ball plays at and McDaniels' transition scoring ability. While allowing Gobert and Edwards to trail behind in plays for dunks or kick-back threes. 

There are many pros to having Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu in the starting lineup. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Offensively, the starting lineup of Ball, Dosunmu, Edwards, McDaniels, and Gobert makes a lot of sense. The potential of four players who are all capable of playmaking and shooting from distance around Gobert, who is still one of the best pick-and-roll bigs in the league. 

The defensive case for Dosunmu to be in the starting lineup

Defensively, Dosunmu makes a lot of sense too, although inserting him into the starting lineup does eliminate the Wolves' ability to use a traditional power forward. The Wolves would lose size, specifically in the weight department, as McDaniels would theoretically shift to the power forward. With the 7’3 Gobert remaining the center, the Wolves' defense with Dosunmu starting would likely have to learn to become more of a switching defense. 

This would be an adjustment for the Wolves, as the past few years with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in the starting lineup have shown more of a willingness to be a man-defensive team. Meaning, unless the game calls for it, they would attempt to fight over screens to contain ball handlers and would only switch in pick-and-rolls if the game plan called for it. 

The thought process behind this was that smaller guards like Mike Conley, DiVincenzo, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could fight over the screens, allowing Gobert to sit back into drop coverage and protect the rim.

With Dosunmu replacing Randle and Ball replacing DiVincenzo, the defense gains a lot of length and quickness. Which should be able to switch more on screens, and the team's speed could allow it to continuously rotate and switch, allowing Gobert to almost play a one-man zone under the basket. 

While the defense would be different, Dosunmu’s ability to stay sound in his matchups and positioning, coupled with his length and speed, could make it very effective. Pair that with his ability to get out and run in transition, and the defense could not only be problematic for smaller teams to deal with the length, but could also outpace larger teams. 

While his scoring touch is nice, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (right) can also be a factor on defense. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The downsides of the Dosunmu starting lineups are pretty glaring, however. He has never proven to be a great rebounder, never averaging more than 3.5 per game for a season.

Factoring in his partnership with McDaniels, Ball, and Edwards would leave Gobert responsible for the majority of rebounding. Rebounding is an area of growth that Dosunmu brought up unprompted during his press conference when asked about the next step as a player.

"I want to be more assertive in rebounding. I think that’s something I continue to grow at, rebound, and push the pace."

If Dosunmu were to grow as a rebounder and that area was no longer a weakness, the other main downside of him starting is the lack of depth the Wolves currently have.

With a Ball, Edwards, Dosunmu, McDaniels, and Gobert starting lineup, plus DiVincenzo sidelined by injury, the bench becomes unproven. Terrence Shannon Jr. likely becomes the sixth man despite only playing 877 total minutes in his first two seasons. 

Bones Hyland likely becomes the lead guard off the bench after falling out of the Wolves' rotations completely in the 2025-26 playoffs. Joan Beringer becomes the top big off the bench after logging just 314 minutes in his rookie season. Then Jaylen Clark, Trey Lyles, and Isaiah Evans round out the top 11 players. Of all the bench players, only Hyland played more than 13.1 minutes per game last season. 

The benefit of starting Shannon Jr., Lyles, or Beringer would provide size to the starting lineup, but it would also allow Dosunmu to become the bench unit's leader and provide relief to the starters after their first shift to begin games. Realistically, Finch could get the same effect by the second quarter by tweaking his substitutions. It is easier for a coach to stagger lineups when a key player isn’t starting and can come in for relief right away. 

Overall, the decision might be forced by Dosunmu, especially considering his new contract and how well he gelled with the core last season after they acquired him by trade.

His play style fits very well with a new modern space-and-length-focused Wolves team, and his ability to synergize with Gobert on defense might make Dosunmu too valuable to come off the bench. On the other hand, the rebounding shortcomings and lack of depth may also be too glaring for Finch to overlook. 

Get Timberwolves On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.