It was never the plan for Ayo Dosunmu and LaMelo Ball to share the backcourt in droves for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season.

In fact, the start they got off to was rocky enough that perhaps it was a break glass in case of emergency for head coach Chris Finch and company, as most other aspects of the team were seamless over the opening stretch of the regular season.

Well, that glass needed to be shattered in the worst possible way. With Anthony Edwards set to miss at least two months with a knee procedure, Dosunmu and Ball were going to need to figure out how to be a dynamic enough backcourt in the absence of the best player on the team.

When on the floor together initially, early returns weren't great. In Edwards' last game before surgery in Cleveland, the pair combined for nine turnovers and clearly were not on the same page. Through the blowout against the Golden State Warriors, the pair had a 1.9 net rating on the floor together (much of that buoyed by the scoring presence of Edwards in three-guard lineups).

But in the acclimation phase since then, with a few games of Edwards out of the lineup and a sink-or-swim ultimatum in making the backcourt work, the pair has been awesome. Since the game against the Warriors, the pair has posted an 18.2 net rating in 96 minutes together; it's the fifth-best net rating on the team among pairings that have played 60 or more minutes together.

"They both can score it at all different levels," Finch said before the game against the Utah Jazz on Sunday. "Those two guys both open up a lot for everybody... and they're really good shooters from the top of the floor."

"Ayo a track star...I call him the jet" LaMelo ball added. "I love people who get out and run."

Blossoming Ayo Dosunmu-LaMelo Ball chemistry is too promising to ignore

From October to November, Ball's point average has gone from 14.4 on 34% from three to 25 points per game on 44% from three. Dosunmu has stayed in the mid-40s, going from 15.3 points on 48% from three to 23 points per game on 45% from three.

For Dosunmu specifically, it's a story of one of the best trades in franchise history, right next to the trade that sent D'Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers for Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and multiple picks. For Dosunmu, he joined a team reeling from poor guard play off the bench last season for 23 regular-season games and the playoffs. Symbolizing a pivot away from a poor decision in trading up in the 2024 NBA draft for Rob Dillingham, Dosunmu came to a team ready to compete and found his way to being a favorite of Finch's

There is no fat to Dosunmu's game. In many ways, he symbolizes everything about Finch's basketball philosophy. Finding your groove in the flow of the offense, taking smart shots, putting pressure on the rim, being decisive, and playing with pace in transition.

Eyebrows were raised when he signed a five-year, $112 million extension to slot in as the sixth man on a contending team. Seen as a possible overpay at the time, it now looks like a bargain that the Wolves were able to lock him down long-term at such a rate. Right now? He's holding it down with his backcourt partner, with Edwards on ice more than admirably, and becoming an all-star-caliber player on extended minutes.

"It was so hard to see Ant go down, but we know he’s gonna be back better than ever," he wrote recent in a Players' Tribune article. "And we’re going to hold it down for him in the meantime and keep that same energy."

Holding it down is one thing. If it keeps trending in the current direction, the Wolves might be in for far more than they've bargained for—in the best way.