When the Minnesota Timberwolves were first matched up against the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs, they were a major underdog. Most experts picked Denver to win, with 15 out of 16 ESPN experts all picking the Nuggets as well.

As the playoffs continued, those odds somehow plummeted even more as the Timberwolves lost two key stars in Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo in Game 4. If that wasn't enough, the Timberwolves found themselves without Ayo Dosunmu in Game 6 as well.

Amid all of those injuries, the Timberwolves found a new hero within their roster, and that became Jaden McDaniels.

McDaniels called out the entire Nuggets roster, even while shorthanded, and still managed to deliver. He finished a closeout Game 6, putting up 32 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block on 52% shooting from the field. In Timberwolves coach Chris Finch's eyes, McDaniels was the team's MVP.

“Well, you know, I think no love lost between the team," Finch said about McDaniels' trash talk. "You know, I think, you know, so he takes the challenge to guard these guys, he knows he’s gonna be in a ton of action."

After issuing the challenge, McDaniels found himself at the center of the action. Finch believed that McDaniels was getting hit by a plethora of screens, but he still found a way to fight through it at all.

"I think, you know, when he called them out the other day and then came out and backed it up at home and, you know, he got foul trouble in game five so it kind of derailed him but, you know, was really our MVP [most valuable player] of this series," Finch said.

From both offense to defense, it's hard to argue the case of McDaniels being MVP of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even beyond the court, his trash talk and tenacity certainly lit a fire within his own teammates as well.

If there's one player who deserves a plethora of praise with McDaniels, it was Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert.

"Obviously, Rudy was sensational, I mean, co-MVP and then tonight almost the triple-double by him, which is crazy, eight assists," Finch admitted.

Gobert ultimately finished Game 6, putting up 10 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal on 0 turnovers. At the same time, he was also playing tremendous defense on Nikola Jokic and shutting down the interior lanes for the Nuggets.

As the regular season was coming to a close, the Denver Nuggets essentially had the chance to pick their own opponent. The team essentially chose to face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it was a decision that the Timberwolves took personally.

"You know, our guys, they took it personal," Finch said. "I mean, Denver had the chance to pick who they wanted to play coming down the stretch, and they chose us, you know, we used that as motivation all the way through preparation and through the series, they chose us."

Minnesota played with that level of chip on its shoulder throughout the entire series. If Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo didn't get injured, one could imagine the series easily ending in five games.

While it seemed like choosing the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed like a smart decision for the Nuggets in realtime, it ultimately ended up being their undoing.

"They didn’t have to choose us, and our guys were up for the challenge of that.”