Even now, on some walks into the locker room postgame, Zach LaVine knows what’s waiting: phone messages from his dad. LaVine’s the son of former NFL player Paul LaVine, who still dissects the Minnesota Timberwolves guard’s every move and every shot. Zach calls his father his best friend, the deliverer of instruction and trash talk.

“If I have a bad shooting day, my dad will take me to the gym,” LaVine told The Vertical. “He’ll talk [expletive] every day. He can be my worst critic. When I was younger, he would always post me up when we played one-on-one … 6-5, 300 pounds, strong like an ox. I used to say, ‘Yo, this is unfair.’

“He can’t do it anymore. I just ascend to block his shots now.”

LaVine has ascended from those rugged backyard games to the NBA court. He has sharpened his skills, worked to reduce deficiencies and created bigger and bigger performances this season. LaVine joins Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns as the Timberwolves’ burgeoning young stars – the “core three” as coach Tom Thibodeau refers to them – who could help the team become the NBA’s next championship contender.

LaVine graduated high school in Washington in 2013 and became the 13th overall draft pick out of UCLA in 2014. His family members ask him: Where has the time gone? LaVine finds appreciation in the summer nights in the gym and the winter days spent honing his jump shot and his handle.

“I’ve always been a very confident person and I know how important it is to take advantage when life gives you opportunity,” LaVine told The Vertical. “I try to let my game speak for itself. There are a lot of critics out there, a lot of people that you want to prove wrong. But that’s what your hard work is for in the offseason, spending hours and hours in the gym.

LaVine was the 13th overall draft pick out of UCLA in 2014. (AP) More

“I like proving people wrong about me.”

LaVine, averaging 21 points on 47.3 percent shooting, is one of the best young guards in the league. Wiggins and Towns will forever carry the clout of former No. 1 overall picks, but LaVine, 21, has been the best of the three on some nights. As one team executive said: “He genuinely loves basketball, and perhaps that aspect was overlooked with his other traits as he entered the draft. That [2014] draft was extremely talented, and he could end up being one of the best players.”

LaVine plays third option on most nights alongside Wiggins and Towns, but has emerged as a candidate for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, adding 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game to his scoring production while also leading the team in minutes at 37.7. He entered the league with a need to improve his outside shot and now shoots 40.8 percent from 3-point range on seven attempts per game.

LaVine has the balance of humility and maturity, of desire and a drive for greatness. He enjoys running the pick-and-roll with Towns and relishes running the break with Wiggins. Around the NBA, executives are closely monitoring the futures of Towns, LaVine and Wiggins, the latter two being eligible for extensions in July.

Within the Timberwolves’ locker room, players have heard the comparisons to the old Oklahoma City Thunder trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Only this time, they hope the core three stay together.

“OKC is a comparison that we get a lot and hear a lot,” LaVine told The Vertical. “Toronto back when they had Vince [Carter] and [Tracy McGrady] together is another that we hear. We try to be our own people. Those groups of guys on those teams are future Hall of Famers, MVPs, MVP candidates. We try to duplicate that, but mostly get wins under our belt.

“We’re all really close. Me, Andrew and Karl. We just take it day by day.”

The Timberwolves explored several trade options in June, including for Chicago star Jimmy Butler, but Thibodeau, also Minnesota’s president of basketball operations, now sounds as committed as anyone in the franchise to his young trio. Outside the organization, executives wonder about Minnesota’s inclination to keep all three. But within the franchise, there is no question: management and owner Glen Taylor will do whatever it takes financially in order to win.

Story continues