Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland weren’t even on the radar to begin the season. One was fighting for his NBA life, entertaining overseas offers before re-signing with the Timberwolves to a standard contract later in the 2025 offseason. Ayo Dosunmu wasn’t even on the roster, playing for another Midwest team with aspirations so low that they don’t even reach the second level of the Target Center.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they had arrived in Minnesota – fitting for these guys who play the game as if
they’ve been lit on fire. Ayo Dosunmu, with the relentlessness of an off-road Jeep, is hurling himself to the rim before finding the perfect angle to kiss a layup off the glass that leaves the defense comically dumbfounded. Bones Hyland, with the sheer velocity of a Corvette, passes up defenders in the left lane, leaving them in the dust – and waves as he passes.
This speed and pace they bring to the game has been a welcome flavor to a Timberwolves offense that has been stuck in the mud consistently for a long time. They help to breathe life into the game and grease the wheels of an offense that has a tendency to play too much in the half-court. This welcomed injection was never more noticeable than in the absence of the Timberwolves captain, Anthony Edwards. For a team that lacked creators when the game slowed down, the best way to counteract it was to lean into the speed. That’s what the Timberwolves did.
Over the six games that Anthony Edwards missed, Ayo Dosunmu averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 50/47/90 shooting splits. He played four games over this stretch. Bones Hyland averaged 15.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game on 44/38/93 splits. Both of them helped carry the offense for stretches as the Timberwolves adjusted to life without their ace.
Ayo Dosunmu has been a revelation since arriving at the trade deadline for Minnesota. He does everything on the basketball court and has a knack for filling holes that were plaguing this roster construction before his arrival. He has brought over the catch and shoot prowess and the versatility defensively, along with the intangible energy and effort that is always needed on this roster and on every team. The things that have been an added bonus are the rebounding and the ability to take even more of the handling duties off of Anthony Edwards’ plate.
The Ayo experiment has been a success so far, but the biggest thing that he has brought to the table is the shot in the arm, pace injection that he forces to happen when he is out there. He is extremely good at getting the ball and quickly weaving through defenders up the court, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Whether he grabs the rebound himself or gets an outlet pass from his teammates, he actively hunts these running chances to get down the court to attack the defense before they get set up. When he makes up his mind to get to the rim in transition, there is no stopping that train. This culminated in a stat-sheet stuffing triple-double last game against the Dallas Mavericks, and he’s just getting started.
Bones Hyland has been one of the best feel-good stories of the NBA season. Starting the year not knowing if he was going to be on the NBA roster, to becoming a key contributor on a playoff team has been a fun story to track here in Minnesota. He has found his niche on this roster as a creator for a team that craves that type of skillset to help get the ball rolling on offense. Bones has been great when injuries have happened, and offense becomes difficult to come by as the main scorers are out of the lineup. He’s also found opportune times to catch fire and breathe life into a Timberwolves bench unit the entire season.
His magic, similar to Ayo’s, comes when he is running in the open court. While Hyland is not as good a rebounder as Ayo, he is great at getting the ball quickly and pushing the pace to create advantageous fast break situations. He can take it himself, using the long wingspan to stretch to the rim and finish layups in smooth finger roll buckets while also finding ways to ignite his teammates’ spark in transition situations.
When things really start to get exciting is when both of them are on the court at the same time. That is when the Twin Turbos are born. Over the four games they played together without Ant, this two-man pairing has a +58.3 in 53 minutes together. The Minnesota Timberwolves were 23rd in pace during the 2023-24 NBA season and 25th in pace during the 2024-25 NBA season.
This year? They are up to 10th in the league with a pace of 101.44. Looking at the numbers since the trade deadline, the two-man pairing of Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu has a pace of 105.09 – the best on the team with a minimum of 200 minutes. Obviously, it must be mentioned that this stat can be considered “cherry-picked”, but the eye test does match what these stats say. Ayo and Bones work off of each other in perfect harmony and enable each other to sprint down the floor at breakneck speeds.
The other big part of this is getting this team, which has a bunch of young athletic players, to run for their efficient offense. Anthony Edwards is on record as saying that he likes to play slower, and Julius Randle is also a slower offensive player. When those are the main people that have the ball in their hands, you’re bound to be a team low in pace. While Donte, Jaden, Naz, and Kyle are more apt to want to run, it makes a huge difference when the player wanting to do that is closer to a true point guard (more so than DDV). Those guys get the ball in their hands and force others to run with them.
On a more emotional note, this dynamic has emerged as being very important for the good vibes of this team and something for fans to grasp onto during a season that has had its down moments. Ayo has brought even more than anticipated in what is looking like a great trade deadline move. Bones Hyland has been a feel-good story that has everyone in his corner, rooting for the underdog.
Be careful to look away from a Timberwolves game nowadays, you might miss a nifty Ayo layup or a Bones wave. Blink, and you might miss it.
