Naz Reid Explains His Cult Following, Winning Sixth Man of the Year and Building a Newfound Culture in Minnesota

Two words. Naz Reid.

SLAM 251 featuring Naz Reid is available now.

The name of the reigning Sixth Man of the Year represents more than just a name at this point. Naz Reid has become a greeting between Minnesota Timberwolves fans outside of home games. It’s turned into a consistent stream of car horns outside of Parkway Pizza in Northeast Minneapolis with the now famous “Honk If You Love Naz Reid” sign sitting right outside. It’s transformed the seats of the Target Center into a beach day with Naz Reid towels in late March. It’s seen hundreds of yard signs plastered with his face strewn about lawns across the greater Minneapolis area.

It’s the name of a Jeopardy contestant’s cat. It’s even become the first tattoo for everyone from 18-year-olds kids to 82-year-old grandmothers. Naz Reid has got a hold on the Timberwolves fan base and the greater NBA community. There’s no explanation, no broader details. This is the epitome of if you know, you know. And trust us, after this past season, everyone and their momma, and their mommas, knows about the rise of Naz Reid.

But at first, Naz didn’t think the ink was real.

After the Timberwolves took down the Denver Nuggets by 26 points in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals—featuring 14 points, 5 boards, 4 blocks and 4 threes from the man himself—two lifelong Wolves fans and artists at Beloved Studios in Roseville, MN, set the stage for the community’s latest outpouring of admiration.

At 12:29 a.m. on May 7th, tattoo artist JC Stroebel tweeted out, “Will tattoo ‘Naz Reid’ on anyone for $20. I’m dead serious.”

Hundreds of requests followed.

“It was crazy. I think the 82-year-old lady was the first person that I saw, and then the list just goes on, I think 200-plus,” Naz tells SLAM. “It was up to the point where I was at the barbershop one day and two kids came in [and] my name was their first tattoo. So, that was crazy to experience. Definitely super exciting. It’s something you obviously dream about as a kid, to have that type of fan base and that excitement around your name is huge.”

From the back of the tricep to the lower thigh just above the kneecap, that excitement is on permanent display in Times New Roman font. The feeling has been surreal, in Naz’s words.

His name has become celebrated among a small market fan base longing for a return to prominence. Yes, the Timberwolves have a bonafide superstar in Anthony Edwards, alongside All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert manning the paint. But it’s the 6-9 versatile New Jersey native with the bag of a guard that has completely won over the hearts and minds of Timberwolves fans. And it’s the reason he’s on this very cover.

Naz Reid is the unsung hero of Minnesota. His quiet confidence is on full display as soon as he walks into the gym we’ve rented out in Las Vegas for his first SLAM cover shoot. Summer League games are taking place just a few miles away, but Naz is suited in his midnight blue and white Timberwolves threads with contrasting “Reverse Grinch” Kobe 6s on his feet as we snap away flicks. He’s paying no mind to the record-setting 116-degree heat that awaits just outside. 

Reid is only the third-ever undrafted player to win the Sixth Man of the Year award—joining John Starks and Darrell Armstrong—and the first Timberwolves player to take home the honor. His 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 41 percent shooting from three weren’t just a bump across the board from years’ past. The 2023-24 season served as his arrival as a full-fledged force in the L.

“This is the craziest I’ve ever seen it, especially this past season with how far we made it in the Western Conference Finals,” Naz says of the culture in Minnesota. “It’s been crazy. We have posters everywhere, chalk on the ground everywhere. It’s super exciting. Definitely something that we’re looking forward to for years to come.”

If you were to truly dive into why the Timberwolves fan base has such a deep-rooted love affair with the stoic 25-year-old, the overwhelming answer would probably be the relatability of his journey. And definitely the way he moves with the rock.

It’s the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs and the Wolves are cruising with a 17-point lead over the Phoenix Suns. With 9:53 left in the fourth quarter, Naz snags a loose ball and sets out in transition. A duo of rapid in-and-out dribbles follow, keeping Eric Gordon from planting his back foot confidently. As Naz finishes the second move with the ball, he whips it wide over his right shoulder, high above Gordon’s head, into a fluid pro hop. Time stops for a moment, as he cradles it in his chest and Bradley Beal enters the scene to contest. Except this is Big Jelly we’re talking about. With ease and a calming finesse, Naz pulls his momentum to the left side of the basket and lays the ball onto the glass and through the net with a clean right-handed reverse.

These routine displays of basketball artistry have sent home crowds into a frenzy, but for those in Asbury Park, NJ, they’re reminiscent of the days Naz was cooking at Roselle Catholic and dropping highlight after highlight as an official member of the Jelly Fam.

“That’s just my go-to. I’ve been doing that for a long time, long time,” Naz says of his transition excellence. “I think Jersey guys are just shiftier than a lot of other people. We just come with a different type of swag and game to any move that we put into play. That’s just kind of how we roll. You think about all the guards that have been in the NBA or near the NBA. You’ve got Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Briscoe, Kyle Anderson; you’ve got a lot of guys who are shifty and move with a different type of swag. I think it’s just kind of how we roll and where we come from.”

Looking back on the days when high school phenoms were stitching a new era into the cultural fabric of hoops, Naz now appreciates the impact being surrounded by guys like Jahvon Quinerly, Atiba Taylor and Luther Muhammad had on his game. “Everything has definitely translated and taken off to what it was back then to where it is now,” Reid says.

Twenty-seven points, 6 rebounds and 7 threes against Dallas in mid-December. A 31-piece and 11 boards while shooting 75 percent from the field in an early April dub vs. the Lakers. Twenty-three points on 78 percent shooting from three in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

From Roselle Catholic to Minneapolis, Naz has blended a guard-like fluidity and pace with the size and skills of a stretch big. He punishes smaller mismatches in the low post with surgical footwork and hook shots while dusting slower opponents at the elbow. He cashes in corner threes before his defender even realizes he left the paint. And he thrives, absolutely thrives, in any position head coach Chris Finch puts him in.

“We’ve had lineups this past year where I was the 3. We’ve had big lineups, so that’s something that I’ve been working on and continuing to work on,” Naz says. “Time will tell, but I can probably transition to a 3, 4 or 5 in this League. So, I’m just going to keep working on it and keep expanding my role.”

In that role as first off the pine, Naz recorded the most consistent season of his career in ’23-24. Fourteen 20-plus point performances in the regular season behind a career-high shooting from deep. And his defensive instincts began to shine. With No. 11 on the floor, the Timberwolves recorded a League-best 107.9 defensive rating. The infamous Game 2 that spawned a litany of tattoos saw Naz enact a defensive masterclass. In the first half alone, he stuffed Jamal Murray twice, then rejected Nikola Jokic on a pair of shots.

Ahead of the ’23-24 season, Naz signed a three-year, $42 million extension with the Timberwolves. The deal was five years of tumultuous work in the making.

His illustrious rise from Jersey to LSU wasn’t met with the same amount of enthusiasm you might have expected when he set his sights on the NBA. After a lone season in Baton Rouge, the 6-9 forward went undrafted in 2019.

His 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds during that season were enough to receive SEC All-Freshman team honors, but the League wasn’t biting. Concerns around his draft workouts and size were highlighted.

“It just made me more hungry. It kind of rose, kind of changed to where I was the hunted, now I’m hunting at that point,” Naz tells SLAM. “In high school, I was a top recruit, five-star, McDonald’s All American, things like that, to where now I had to grind to be in a position where I had to compete against others who were at high levels, who were drafted and things of that nature. So [I was] putting myself in that perspective of just hunting.”

Over the past five seasons, Naz has hunted for more minutes, more shots, more defensive assignments and more responsibility. In every role he’s found himself in, he’s progressed. Dialing into the specifics matters—who he works out with, his daily routines, even what time he goes to sleep at night—all of his habits are predisposed to how things carry over into the next season. Consistency in his role, in his growth, “that’s just the key to the sauce, to be honest.”

As a result, the fame, the outpouring of love and the appreciation he’s received have reached yet another peak. From influencing an entire generation with how they lay the ball up as a 17-year-old to the cult following of his name in the League, Naz has been dealing with the many waves of notoriety for years.

“I treat it as second hand and whatever comes with me putting the work that I put in, I’m excited to have,” Naz says. “Obviously, I’m truly humbled to have all that. I think as anyone should at the professional level, take that along with the bumps and bruises. Just keep being you and playing your game.”

Standing in front of a blue seamless backdrop that lets the aurora green piping of his shorts pop, Naz holds the infamous “Naz Reid” towel outstretched across his back. That March 22 evening was his favorite from this past season. As 18,000 faithful unfurled the towels throughout the arena, Naz dropped 18 points en route to a 13-point win over the Cavaliers. “That moment was a moment where I had to really take it in,” he says. “I haven’t really explained how much I appreciated that moment and how much that really made me feel as far as excited and wanted and loved.”

So we asked him to expand on that appreciation, to speak directly to the fans. From Naz to the Timberwolves fan base, NAZ REID the cat and those who hold his name in ink, this is his message:

“I appreciate every single one of you guys. You guys have seen me come in and work since day one, since the two-way signing to where I am now to this point,” Naz says. “I think everybody knows how much work and dedication I put in and [the] aspirations that I put in to get to where I am now. It’s not going to stop now. This is only the beginning.”

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Portraits by Erik Isakson. Action photos via Getty Images.

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