“Learned This From Pat Riley”: Alex Rodriguez Took Inspiration From Miami Heat President to Turn Minnesota Timberwolves Into Championship Favorites

The former New York Yankees shortstop Alex Rodriguez is a proud part-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Off lately, he has been witness to the team’s rebirth. An amazing transformation, in other words. While the national media might not have predicted this meteoric rise, A-Rod, along with President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly and coach Chris Finch, have been quietly building something special.

While he got ready for Game 3, he had a quick conversation with Dane from the Dane Moore NBA Podcast. In that, he reflects on the team’s growth and some valuable lessons from a basketball executive. Adding insights to this subject, he further said, “And I hear you and Britt talk all the time. For me, I go back to last year at this time when we played Denver.”

Alex Rodriguez shares his perspective on how the Minnesota Timberwolves transformed this season

Despite a first-round playoff exit to the Denver Nuggets, Rodriguez saw promise. Key players like Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Kyle Anderson were sidelined with injuries. Yet, the foundation for success was being laid. Rodriguez went on to say, “The focus was let’s focus on two things: conditioning and mental discipline”. With that, he shared where he learned this from, “I’ve learned this from Pat Riley” 

A-Rod continued as he mentioned Karl, “who doesn’t get enough credit for all the great things he does”. He highlighted how Karl went from 17 technicals over the last two years to zero! Now isn’t that something awesome to witness happen? 

He also added more thoughts on how the team has evolved over time, emphasizing on the discipline that the team holds. He also added a little knowledge nugget about the players’ health. With that, it is safe to say that this newfound discipline extends beyond Towns. The entire team is in peak physical condition.

The team prioritizes fitness like none other

Rodriguez acknowledging that people don’t talk about it enough rightly brought an interesting piece of information to light. He shared proudly, “One of the things that people don’t talk about is we’re one of the best-conditioned teams in the NBA. Last year we had zero players with 3% body fat. This year we have four!”

With the 13x All Star’s words, the team’s performance and statistics backing the results speak volumes. There is no doubt that the Timberwolves are a force to be reckoned with. As they consistently battle it out in the fourth quarter, A-Rod attributes this success to the team’s mental toughness and relentless conditioning. This is a testament to the vision the owners have implemented for the team. He also credited Connelly, and Finch for bringing the team the mental discipline and necessary conditioning.