Timberwolves Summer League head coach Kevin Hanson noted the Wolves wanted to get Terrence Shannon Jr. more burn with the big league club in Shannon’s rookie campaign.

“We all knew he would be ready,” Hanson said.

But the firmly solidified eight-man rotation flush with proven players all deserving of hefty minute loads often prevented Shannon’s opportunities from arising.

But when his chances did come, the rookie often seized them. From a 25-point performance in Los Angeles against the Lakers to a double double in Minnesota’s stunning comeback in Oklahoma City in February to scoring 15 points in 13 minutes in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the 24-year-old’s flashes were blindingly brilliant.

And all of the success has the wing feeling ultra confident heading into his second Summer League. Minnesota opens play in Las Vegas on Thursday.

“We expect him to probably be our leading scorer,” Hanson said.

It’s a safe bet.“I would say I’m always confident, but it’s a little different,” Shannon said. “I’m more confident than I was last summer, but that just comes with work. The more you work, I feel like the more confident you are.”

And Shannon made a point to not only work during his rookie campaign, but also learn. He was frequently asking his more experienced teammates for insights and information and trying to apply those to sharpen his craft, particularly on the defensive end.

It’s now proven that Shannon can score. He’s perhaps the NBA team’s most dangerous transition freight train who can get to the free throw line and also proved he could knock down a jumper. They’re all reasons he was one of the best scorers in college basketball as a senior at Illinois in the 2023-24 campaign.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him score 30 points in a Summer League bout this month. But Shannon doesn’t have any goals of that sort. He simply wants to showcase his skills, win games and contend for a championship, even if it’s of the Summer League variety. He’ll enter the gym in Las Vegas this week feeling he has nothing to prove.

“I’m just looking to dominate,” Shannon said. “Just showcase my talent, win these games, just be the best version of myself.”

That extends well beyond scoring. Minnesota plans to push Shannon this month on both ends of the floor.

“We really want to see him defend. We’re going to put him on some tough tasks out there, and we want to see him take on those tough tasks while scoring, as well,” Hanson said. “You’ve got to do both. You’ve got to be a two-way player.”

And he’s got to be a multi-faceted offensive threat. Shannon’s primary form of offensive attack last season was putting his head down and getting to the rack, either in transition or by playing off the catch. That’s a necessary skill, no question. But Minnesota needs players outside of Anthony Edwards who can create off the bounce, both for themselves and others.

Hanson noted Minnesota plans to put Shannon in two-man actions where he’ll have to read the defense and make decisions. And he’ll have to do all of that while being the top item on opposing defensive gameplans.

That’s a far different scenario than where Shannon found himself in the West Finals, when he was where the Thunder would attempt to hide their big man out on the perimeter.

“So it’ll be fun to watch him navigate through that,” Hanson said.

This is the next step in the wing’s progression. One he has to take if he’s to seamlessly step into Minnesota’s rotation in place of the Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is off to Atlanta via a sign-and-trade free-agent deal.

Opportunity awaits for the second-year player here in Minnesota.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” Shannon said of what’s to come next season. “But I’m also living where my feet are, and that’s Summer League. But of course I’ve thought about it. That’s why I’m working as well as I am right now.”

This is the training grounds to set up what’s to come.

“It was just a matter of time,” Hanson said. “There’s no turning back now.”