For about a decade, the Illinois basketball fanbase had very little to cheer on in the NBA.
Deron Williams, who would have been a Hall of Famer if it weren’t for injuries, was coming to the end of his NBA career, and the Illini weren’t putting much talent into The Association.
Ever since Brad Underwood took over the program, the influx of NBA talent has skyrocketed. Ayo Dosunmu was the first domino to fall, and since then, a handful of other Illinois players have been dabbling on NBA rosters.
Terrence Shannon Jr. is one of the best players in the history of the Illinois basketball program, and he has a chance to have one of the best NBA careers from a player coming out of Champaign, too.
Last year was a bit frustrating. After getting picked No. 27 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t use Shannon much. In 32 games, Shannon averaged 10.6 minutes per contest and put up 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per night.
Heading into year two, I would imagine there is an increase in minutes on the horizon. Shannon is about to take the court for the Timberwolves’ Summer League squad, and I think there is a chance he leads the Summer League in points per game.
One thing is for certain: Shannon won’t be wearing the same number. In his rookie season, Shannon sported the double zero number, 00, for Minnesota. He is now going to be changing that number. Shannon will instead wear No. 1, which was worn by Daishen Nix last season.
Terrence Shannon Jr. has worn a myriad of numbers throughout his playing career
It will be interesting to see if No. 1 is a better player than No. 00, and I would imagine that will be the case. I do expect a big year out of Shannon. A number change isn’t anything new to the former Illini star either.
Terrence Shannon Jr. (@Sn1per_T) is switching from No. 00 to No. 1 for the #Timberwolves. Number last worn by Daishen Nix in 2025. #NBA pic.twitter.com/gltAEVBypy
— Etienne Catalan (@EtienneCatalan) July 3, 2025
In high school, he started at Lincoln Park and sported the No. 0. Throughout his AAU career with the Mac Irvin Fire, Shannon wore the No. 11. Shannon eventually transferred to IMG Academy during his high school career. With IMG, he wore the No. 3.
After having a ton of scholarship offers, Shannon picked Texas Tech as his first landing spot in the college ranks. He wore No. 1 with the Red Raiders. He then transferred to Illinois, where Shannon wore No. 0.
Shannon is now in the NBA, where he wore No. 00 as a rookie and will now wear No. 1 as a sophomore. Hopefully, he has a sharp rise in 2025-26, and this is the last time anyone else wears No. 1 on the Minnesota roster for quite some time.