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Donte DiVincenzo explaining his injury and the emotions that came with it.
The Minnesota Timberwolves enter the offseason facing major questions after their second-round playoff exit against the San Antonio Spurs, but much of the focus during exit interviews centered on guard Donte DiVincenzo and the torn Achilles injury that ended his postseason.
DiVincenzo suffered the injury during the first round against the Denver Nuggets and was forced to watch from the sidelines as Minnesota fell to San Antonio in six games. His absence became increasingly noticeable against the Spurs, particularly with Anthony Edwards facing constant double teams and the Timberwolves struggling to generate perimeter offense.
Speaking during exit interviews, DiVincenzo gave an emotional account of the moment he realized the severity of the injury and how he has approached the recovery process since surgery.
“Given the situation, I feel great,” DiVincenzo said. “No pain, no discomfort, nothing. The scar looks amazing. Literally anything that I was thinking beforehand, it would kind of transpire that way, and it’s been all positive.”
GettyMinnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo
DiVincenzo said he immediately feared an Achilles injury when he went down during the opening round series against Denver.
“I asked the trainers when they came over,” DiVincenzo said. “I said, just tell me, was there somebody around me? And they said no, and I said, my Achilles. So I kind of knew right away.”
The Timberwolves guard explained that the emotional impact did not fully hit him until he walked off the court.
“Didn’t really hit me until walking off the court, once I got to the back of the tunnel,” DiVincenzo said. “That when my emotions started going through my head.”
Donte DiVincenzo full clip explaining his injury and the emotions that came with it
“Given the situation I feel great. No pain, no discomfort, nothing. Scar looks amazing. Literally anything that I was thinking beforehand didn’t kind of transpire that way and it’s been all
He admitted the injury initially brought frustration and doubt after one of the best stretches of basketball of his career.
“Once I sat back that when all the questions, the doubts, the not understanding why me and all that, that’s when that all hit,” DiVincenzo said.
But the 29-year-old said his mindset changed quickly the following day as he shifted his focus toward recovery.
“By the next morning, my mind, like, I flipped the page of thinking, like, can we get surgery? When can we get started? When can I get back?” DiVincenzo said.
He also credited his teammates and the Timberwolves locker room for helping him through the recovery process.
“Being in constant communication with those guys and having that team, that brotherhood around you, it really gets you through the dark moments,” DiVincenzo said.
Before the injury, DiVincenzo had played in all 82 regular-season games for Minnesota. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 37.9% from 3-point range.
GettyMinnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards
Minnesota players and coaches also reflected on broader issues that surfaced during the season and postseason run.
Anthony Edwards said the Timberwolves missed DiVincenzo’s presence heavily during the Spurs series.
“Missing Donte is big for us, man,” Edwards said after the Game 6 loss. “He spreads the floor like no other.”
Edwards also acknowledged his own physical limitations after battling knee injuries throughout the postseason.
“The basketball stuff, it’s not last, but when it comes to me being injured a lot this year, I’ve got to really focus on my knees, my ankles, my hips,” Edwards said.
DiVincenzo pointed to team chemistry and consistency as areas Minnesota must improve heading into next season.
“You have a locker room that is extremely talented and you have a locker room that are not bad guys,” DiVincenzo said. “When you have good guys, you have hard workers and you have talent, you can figure stuff out.”
Veteran guard Mike Conley echoed similar concerns about the team’s inconsistency during the season.
“There’s just no place for that inconsistency when you’re trying to compete for a championship,” Conley said.
Minnesota finished the regular season 49-33 before defeating Denver in the first round. The Timberwolves then lost to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in six games, ending their season one round earlier than the previous year.
Coach Chris Finch acknowledged the challenge ahead as the Western Conference continues to strengthen.
“You either gotta be a problem or have a solution,” Finch said. “You have to be built in a way that troubles your opponent with something they don’t have or have something to counter what they do have.”
Debayan Biswas Debayan Biswas is a sports writer at Heavy Sports covering NBA, NFL, Golf, and Soccer. His work has been syndicated on Yahoo Sports, Yardbarker, Flipboard, The Sun News, and The Olympian. Previously, he contributed to Athlon Sports, EssentiallySports, and PFSN. More about Debayan Biswas
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