Minnesota Timberwolves select Terrence Shannon in 2024 NBA Draft

Terrence Shannon is coming off of an explosive final season of his college career that caught the eye of several NBA teams. That’s why the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to take a chance on the former Illinois guard with the No. 27 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Shannon spent the past two seasons with the Fighting Illini after playing his first three at Texas Tech. He averaged a career-high 23.0 points — ranking third in the country — on 47.5% shooting and 36.2% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-6 guard topped the 30-point mark seven times, including scoring 34 in the Big Ten Tournament Championship against Wisconsin.

Illinois reached the Elite Eight largely on the back of Shannon before falling to eventual champion UConn. He averaged 23.3 points and 3.3 assists across his four tournament games.

As a recruit, Shannon was a four-star prospect coming out of IMG Academy. He ranked as the No. 84 overall player and No. 20 small forward in the 2019 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Shannon started in 54 games across 83 appearances during his first three season at Texas Tech. He averaged 11.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. It wasn’t until he transferred to Illinois ahead of the 2022-23 season, however, that he truly blossomed.

Shannon went from averaging 10.4 points during his final season with the Red Raiders to 17.2 during his first year with the Fighting Illini. Now he’ll hope his scoring ability can translate over to the next level after lighting up defenses for the past two years in Champaign.

What NBA Draft analysts are saying about Terrence Shannon

On3‘s James Fletcher provided some analysis on Shannon’s game in his recent article ranking the top 40 NBA Draft prospects. It’s not just the scoring ability that he likes but also his potential as a distributor.

Shannon averaged 2.5 assists per game during his two seasons at Illinois.

“Terrence Shannon proved to be one of the best offensive players in college basketball, improving his efficiency numbers across the board from his career totals,” Fletcher wrote. “The ability to create for others also elevated the Illinois offense. For the 6-foot-6 guard, questions about his game will be background to the off-court issue. He was suspended in late December 2023 by Illinois after a warrant was issued for his arrest for an alleged rape that took place in Kansas, later getting a restraining order against the school.

“Shannon’s draft stock is entirely tied to his legal proceedings at this point, making this a difficult projection to make.”

Shannon was found to be not guilty in the case on June 13, so any questions regarding his character have hopefully been cleared up.