The San Antonio Spurs used a second round pick on Leonard Miller during the 2023 NBA Draft. Minnesota acquired those draft rights for a pair of future second round picks. He hasn’t seen much run during his first two NBA seasons, but has been impressive in the G-League.

Leonard Miller to represent MN Timberwolves in Rising Stars game

Now, with the All-Star Game around the corner, Miller found out recently that he has been named to the 2025 NBA Rising Stars Game, which takes place during All-Star weekend (Feb 14-16).

2025 NBA Rising Stars rosters released: pic.twitter.com/0e7Bb7CbW4

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 28, 2025

Miller earned a spot on the Rising Stars roster with his play this season for the Iowa Wolves. Across 16 games. the is averaging 24.4 points per game, shooting 50.9% from the field and 36.1% from beyond the arc. Miller also has averaged 11.8 rebounds per game, and passes out an average of 3.3 assists per game. All of those numbers are up substantially from what he did in the G-League last season.

The selection to the Rising Stars roster is the second of Miller’s career. He has showed well during the early phases of his development at the professional level. He joins rookie Zach Edey as the two Canadians to make the roster. Unfortunately rookie Rob Dillingham did not get selected.

34 PTS 🐺 15 REB 🐺 15/24 FG

Leonard Miller posted another MONSTER double-double for the @iawolves! The @timberwolves assignee was one point shy of matching his career-high in scoring. pic.twitter.com/SW16G6XOxF

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 19, 2024

The Timberwolves rotation is a tough one to crack. Miller has played in just four games this season but he is just 21 years old. The ability to go against top rookies and sophomores on a big stage during the Rising Stars game should suit him well.

Related: Report: Keep Eye on Timberwolves, Julius Randle in Jimmy Butler Trade Talks

It appears that the Timberwolves escaped bad news regarding a potential Nickeil Alexander-Walker injury. Still, Miller can remain a nice depth piece until his time comes to step up.

19-year-old ???????? Leonard Miller is an orthodox prospect. 6-foot-10 lefty with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a 9-foot standing reach. Attacks the glass and loves igniting the break as a ball-handler in the open floor. Unique athlete. Passing vision. Good touch around the rim. Scrappy… pic.twitter.com/ei2iyHivTo

— League Him (@League_Him) June 19, 2023

Leonard Miller G-League stats:

16.9 PPG
10.1 RPG
0.9 SPG
0.8 BPG
55 FG%
33 3P%
19 Years Old
6’10

Grade this pick: pic.twitter.com/3dLGQaq7Ob

— MNMuse (@statmusewolves) June 23, 2023

Both Miller and Clark have been seen widely as steals, given where they were drafted (#33 and #53, respectively), but both guys will much of the next two seasons in the G-League, too. Still, that hasn’t stopped draft experts across the internet from praising Tim Connelly and the rest of the Timberwolves scouting staff on how this whole thing shook out.

ESPN draft analyst, Kevin Pelton, had both guys in his top-30 overall and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had Leonard Miller ranked as the 13th best prospect available last night. If a grade was given, you’ll see it in parenthesis.

Timberwolves draft (team) grades/analysis

Kevin Pelton – ESPN (B+) : Starting the night with only the 53rd pick after the Rudy Gobert trade, the Timberwolves somehow came away with two of the top 30 players in my projections. Clark being available at No. 53 was unsurprising given questions about his shooting (30% career on 3s), but Minnesota needed to package future picks to move into the early second round to select Miller. Like Clark, Miller must improve his shooting at the NBA level.

Kyle Irving – Sporting News (B) : The Timberwolves traded into the early first round to select Miller, a jack-of-all-trades and high-energy forward who can fill a role off the bench immediately. They stuck with defense with their late second-round pick, taking a former Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in Clark, who should have a chance to work into Minnesota’s guard rotation.

Charles Curtis – USA Today (B) : Love both these picks. Big value here!

No. 33: Leonard Miller (G-League Ignite) grades/analysis

Sam Vecenie – The Athletic (ranked Miller #13 prospect in draft): Miller does stuff you can’t really teach. He’s a big ballhandler who hits the glass and can really attack and cover ground quickly with long strides but also decelerate and change direction with the ball. His athleticism is a rare blend.

He’s an elite finisher with incredible touch around the basket – the touch that kind of gives you hope long term that an elite shooting coach will be able to fix it. There’s some passing ability here. There’s some defensive upside here. It’s all just in the form of an entirely unshaped diamond who may never reach its full form because he’s starting from such a deficit in terms of experience.

John Hollinger – The Athletic: This pick was traded to Minnesota for two future seconds. I had a top-20 grade on Miller so I highly approve of this pick; Miller is a young forward whose shot needs work, but he’s big, he can handle the ball, he’s a good rebounder, and he was very productive as a teenager in the G League last season.

Adam Finkelstein – CBS Sports (A) : The Spurs made this pick and flipped it to Minnesota, giving the Timberwolves — for my money — a lottery-level talent and one of the better value acquisitions of the night. Miller has a funky-but-effective game as a big wing who can put the ball on the floor, pass and defend with versatility. He’s a high motor forward who will fit nicely as they build around Anthony Edwards

Zach Buckley – Bleacher Report (A-) : If the Timberwolves stay patient with Miller and really invest in his development, they may have nabbed the night’s top theft here. He is far more fascinating in theory than reality for now, but that’s fine. He doesn’t have to enter this league as a finished product. Instead, he’ll go in as a possible jumbo-sized ball-handler who can finish, distribute, defend and knock down shots from distance. Some of those are theoretical skills, but the framework is in place for a pretty special player at some point.

No. 53: Jaylen Clark (UCLA) grades/analysis

Sam Vecenie – The Athletic (ranked Clark #51 prospect in draft): Clark is a prospect of extremes. The defense is elite. You could put him on an NBA court right now after about a month of adjusting to his team’s scheme, and he’d be able to impact the game.

He has a very strong case as the best perimeter defender in this draft class, and he’s one of the better ones I’ve evaluated in the last few draft cycles. But the offense is a real worry outside of running the court in transition. In his jumper’s current state, I’m worried teams won’t have to guard him when he’s spacing the court.

John Hollinger – The Athletic: A ball-hawking guard whose draft stock may have suffered due to a late-season Achilles injury, Clark is short for a wing and his 3-point shot is suspect, but he has some discount De’Anthony Melton potential if everything clicks.

Adam Finkelstein – CBS Sports (A) : Defense, defense, defense. That’s what Clark brings to the table for Minnesota. He had an Achilles injury at the end of last season that might’ve pushed him down the board, but the two time All-Pac 12 defense honoree is a disruptive defensive presence worth betting on.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan