Naz Reid: Two Words Hornets Fans Will Grow to Love

The new league year is here in the NBA, and many of the trades and signings made since the conclusion of the NBA Finals back on June 13 are now official. Of course, for Charlotte Hornets fans, it’s been an emotional and tumultuous couple of weeks.

LaMelo Ball was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns, and it feels almost like the Hornets as an organization lost a part of its soul in the process. There will be more time to reflect on what Charlotte is losing (and I intend to do so). But for now, it’s time to focus in on the most important player the Hornets got back after trading two of their cornerstones: Naz Reid.

Charlotte is sending out two of its most beloved players from this decade to the Western Conference. And in return, they’re getting arguably the most beloved player by the Minnesota Timberwolves’ fanbase since 2020 as well. Yes, possibly even more than Anthony Edwards.

If you’re a Wolves fan, I can just about guarantee that you’re reading this with a grin and nodding your head right now. It’s hard to fully encapsulate what Reid came to mean to Minnesota during his time with the team. And plenty of Hornets fans don’t truly know the backstory, by no fault of their own.

Before he became one of the most loved figures in Minnesota, before every seat in the Target Center was adorned with towels reading simply “Naz Reid,” and before the now-famous “HONK IF YOU LOVE NAZ REID” sign that stood outside Parkway Pizza in Northeast Minneapolis, Reid was just another young, undrafted prospect Wolves fans hoped would turn into a real contributor.

The truth is, long-time fans of the Timberwolves had been down this road plenty of times in the years prior to Reid arriving with the team in 2019. There were numerous guys (undrafted or otherwise) that came through the doors at Target Center that fans swore up and down were an improvement or two away from breaking out into a star. But in the end, none of those guys ended up truly panning out.

It’s a brutal reality that the late 2000’s to the mid-to-late 2010’s were painfully unkind to the Timberwolves as a franchise. That fanbase suffered through an impossibly difficult stretch after Kevin Garnett left for Boston, and they were absolutely desperate to see their team come through with a big developmental win.

Naz Reid ended up providing just the kind of feel-good development story that Wolves fans had been so hungry for. When he came on the scene as a rookie, Naz was playing just over 16 minutes a game, but he was already beginning to etch himself into the hearts of the fanbase.

It wasn’t long before there was a whole subset of Timberwolves fans so enamored with Reid’s game that they decided to turn his name into a running joke of sorts. Hundreds would post simply “Naz Reid,” all over Reddit forums as a standard reply on message boards.

The lore truly goes deep with the Wolves’ fanbase, but it didn’t even stop there. The guys in the locker room eventually caught on to it too, with Jaden McDaniels at one point constantly greeting his teammate with a quick “Naz Reid” before going on about his business.

Jace frederick@JaceFrederick

Every time I've seen Jaden McDaniels exit the locker room, he looks at Naz Reid with a straight face, says, "Naz Reid," then walks away. Asked Naz Reid if that's a constant: "Every single time." Even on the court.

4:28 AM · Jan 20, 2023 · 681K Views

134 Replies · 377 Reposts · 4.92K Likes

The man known coloquially as “Big Jelly” quickly blossomed from a fun story and an easy guy to root for into one of the most important players on the Timberwolves’ roster. During Minnesota’s 2023-24 season where the team won 56 games, Reid enjoyed his strongest season yet, taking home the Sixth Man of the Year award after playing 81 games and averaging 13.5 points on a title-contending team.

It was after that season that his value rose tremendously, and Wolves fans began to wonder if they might eventually see the day where the fan favorite found himself in a different team’s uniform. Now, that day has come.

For Minnesota, losing a talent like Naz is a byproduct of the current NBA landscape. The Timberwolves found themselves in the second tier of contenders in the Western Conference, and needed badly to make an upgrade and put another All-Star level player next to Edwards. Now, they have that in LaMelo Ball.

But ultimately, they’ll have to move forward in this exciting new era without the man who captured so many hearts during his time in Minnesota. It’s going to be a difficult loss for that fanbase to stomach. However, on the flip side, I anticipate the Hornets’ fanbase will take excellent care of him.

Naz Reid isn’t going to a place where he’ll be unappreciated or taken for granted. The city of Charlotte loves basketball more than most things, and Hornets fans naturally gravitate to the hard workers who show up every day and put in the extra effort.

That’s precisely who number 11 has always been. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Reid eventually becomes just as much of a folklore hero in the Queen City as he was in Minnesota.

Will Eudy covers the Charlotte Hornets for The Eudy Report. Follow for credentialed Hornets coverage year-round.