Minnesota Sports Forum

I don't know if you guys like Jace Frederick. He looks about 14 years old, and his constant use of "like" and "and what not" can get annoying on podcasts, but he understands the game well and seems to know the Wolves players.

Anyway, I was listening to him on Dane's pod today as they were discussing why the Wolves come out so flat at times, and why they are able to make comebacks like they did against the Spurs. Jace contends that they are a very confident team bordering on arrogance. As a team, they think they are better than the other teams. And as individuals, they don't think their defender can stop them. It ties into Finchy's theory that the team gets bored sometimes, and that can lead to some flat starts. But they also think they are never out of a game, and that can lead to some inspired comebacks.

I think his contention makes sense...I do think that for the most part the Wolves are a very confident team, and although it results in uninspired starts at times, I think it is mostly a good thing. Look at Ant: his post game comments after the Spurs game were interesting. He said it doesn't matter to him how much the ball is in his hands for most of the game, but he said his teammates had better get him the ball at clutch time. And it shows up in the results. Most of us have played some hoops, and we know there are days the hoop looks as wide as a hula hoop...you just know the shot is going in, That's what Ant sees in crunch time, and it has a lot to do with the fact he leads the league with a 70% shooting percentage in the clutch. I think it's also why his defense is so lackluster at times.

Ju also. There are days when you can see in his eyes that he doesn't think his man can stop him. Donte is like every Italian guy I ever played with or against when I was playing in Connecticut...they're cocky. Even Jaden. He seems so reserved on the court, but Jace says he is just like the rest of the team...he thinks he can score on anyone, and thinks that nobody can score on him.

If Jace is correct, I can understand why the Wolves might feel this way. Players like Rudy, Ju and Ant frustrate me at times, but I think we have more overall talent in our top 9 players than any other team...even the Thunder. But the Thunder have been more successful than us because they seem to bring their top effort every night. We don't.

What do you guys think? Are we an arrogant team to some extent, and is that both a good and a bad thing at times?

Sometimes, confidence can turn into arrogance... which then requires a humbling experience to reset.

But I'm not going to quibble too much about the Wolves going to back-to-back WCF appearances... and then a 54-win pace this season. They can be arrogant. Inconsistent. Whatever. I'm just enjoying the winning after so so much losing over the years.

I think in pro sports you have to have some arrogance in your personality matrix. If your arrogance is delusional then it becomes a problem. You start to get cognitive dissonance when you think you are better than you are and blame outwardly to refs or teammates and it causes friction. If your arrogance comes from knowing you put in the work and are legitimately a bad mother fucker then it can be a huge motivator when you’re tested and found lacking. Jordan for example, countless examples of him playing poorly in a game until someone talks shit to him and learns quickly that’s a bad idea. The great ones never lack for confidence. I think Ant specifically has a high level of arrogance and every time he is tested and fails it fuels him to shore up an area of lacking and shut up the doubters. Last year a double team was his Kryptonite. A year later and he has every answer seemingly to that test. Jaden in the other hand seems to respond poorly to adversity in the moment but generally comes back strong when he gets time to get his head right. Rudy similarily has shown his arrogance quite openly at times with his expression in games when other guys go at him physically. But there isn’t a Trae young or ja morant on this team in the sense that their belief in themselves outweighs their actual talents. The work shows I think.
You kind of have to live with the lulls in a long season where it’s incredibly hard to have 82 perfect days. It always bugs me whe people go to the “professional athletes just have to play a game and shouldn’t have such up and down energy levels”. People that say stuff like that maybe hit the gym once a week or less and never test themselves physically. Sooooo many factors go into it. Ant taking care of his diet in recent years again shows his arrogance fuels his motor.

I see it two ways. There is intelligent confidence and illusional arrogance. The Wolves seem to teeter back and forth on the spectrum.

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 3:15 pm I think in pro sports you have to have some arrogance in your personality matrix. If your arrogance is delusional then it becomes a problem. You start to get cognitive dissonance when you think you are better than you are and blame outwardly to refs or teammates and it causes friction. If your arrogance comes from knowing you put in the work and are legitimately a bad mother fucker then it can be a huge motivator when you’re tested and found lacking. Jordan for example, countless examples of him playing poorly in a game until someone talks shit to him and learns quickly that’s a bad idea. The great ones never lack for confidence. I think Ant specifically has a high level of arrogance and every time he is tested and fails it fuels him to shore up an area of lacking and shut up the doubters. Last year a double team was his Kryptonite. A year later and he has every answer seemingly to that test. Jaden in the other hand seems to respond poorly to adversity in the moment but generally comes back strong when he gets time to get his head right. Rudy similarily has shown his arrogance quite openly at times with his expression in games when other guys go at him physically. But there isn’t a Trae young or ja morant on this team in the sense that their belief in themselves outweighs their actual talents. The work shows I think.
You kind of have to live with the lulls in a long season where it’s incredibly hard to have 82 perfect days. It always bugs me whe people go to the “professional athletes just have to play a game and shouldn’t have such up and down energy levels”. People that say stuff like that maybe hit the gym once a week or less and never test themselves physically. Sooooo many factors go into it. Ant taking care of his diet in recent years again shows his arrogance fuels his motor.

We actually have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams with a record below .500 (OKC is 1st). So are other teams even more arrogant than us at times? Or to your point, is this just the nature of an NBA 82-game season where every team has lulls and lazy starts at times. Heck, even OKC got blown out at home by Charlotte.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:57 pm

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 3:15 pm I think in pro sports you have to have some arrogance in your personality matrix. If your arrogance is delusional then it becomes a problem. You start to get cognitive dissonance when you think you are better than you are and blame outwardly to refs or teammates and it causes friction. If your arrogance comes from knowing you put in the work and are legitimately a bad mother fucker then it can be a huge motivator when you’re tested and found lacking. Jordan for example, countless examples of him playing poorly in a game until someone talks shit to him and learns quickly that’s a bad idea. The great ones never lack for confidence. I think Ant specifically has a high level of arrogance and every time he is tested and fails it fuels him to shore up an area of lacking and shut up the doubters. Last year a double team was his Kryptonite. A year later and he has every answer seemingly to that test. Jaden in the other hand seems to respond poorly to adversity in the moment but generally comes back strong when he gets time to get his head right. Rudy similarily has shown his arrogance quite openly at times with his expression in games when other guys go at him physically. But there isn’t a Trae young or ja morant on this team in the sense that their belief in themselves outweighs their actual talents. The work shows I think.
You kind of have to live with the lulls in a long season where it’s incredibly hard to have 82 perfect days. It always bugs me whe people go to the “professional athletes just have to play a game and shouldn’t have such up and down energy levels”. People that say stuff like that maybe hit the gym once a week or less and never test themselves physically. Sooooo many factors go into it. Ant taking care of his diet in recent years again shows his arrogance fuels his motor.

We actually have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams with a record below .500 (OKC is 1st). So are other teams even more arrogant than us at times? Or to your point, is this just the nature of an NBA 82-game season where every team has lulls and lazy starts at times. Heck, even OKC got blown out at home by Charlotte.

I reckon it’s the nature of an 82-game season. The Wolves lazy start won’t matter if followed by a relentless, strong finish. We all know the cliche. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. It seems to me that a key to avoiding lulls is having a superstar who never lets up and who pushes his teammates to do the same. Some notable examples from the past have been MJ and Kobe. I’m hoping that Ant is growing into that role for the Wolves.