The Minnesota Timberwolves and their fans might not know who they got in Walker Kessler. He’s brand new to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and those who root for the franchise could be unfamiliar with his game.

Let me put their mind at ease: you have a winner and someone who will please at every press conference.

It was evident from the first time we got to interview Kessler before his first season at Auburn. He’s funny, someone who always has an interesting answer to your question if he doesn’t pull the Gregg Popovich treatment with one or two-word replies, something that makes him somewhat even more likable. The bucket hat that became a trademark came and went, but his personality never did.

But, since he’s a basketball player who will earn millions of dollars to play the game for a franchise starving for a winner, his performance on the floor is more important. Luckily, he’s even more impressive in that regard. The NABC Division 1 Defensive Player of the Year, the combination of Kessler and Karl Anthony-Towns should make any player thinking about attacking the rim reconsider. He has an innate ability to jump at the right time, coming out of nowhere to reject a shooter who never saw him coming.

The Timberwolves also got a great competitor with the 22nd pick in the draft. He gets so mad at himself because he realizes he can be better, which could often happen in his early professional years. He expects the best out of himself, another obvious thing watching him in practices and games. Never satisfied is what I would consider him. That led him from North Carolina to Auburn, playing in a system that allowed him to be himself. It led to an SEC regular-season title and many postseason awards for the Georgia native.

Most of all, the Timberwolves are getting a great human. I saw his impact on fans, especially children, during his stint at Auburn. The Tigers became a team full of rock stars, with Jabari Smith and Kessler leading the way. It would have been easy to avoid interactions with well-wishers after games and live life as most college players do. But that wasn’t Jabari, and that certainly wasn’t Kessler. Time after time, he came out of the locker room after 40 minutes of battling to take pictures, sign autographs and, sometimes, give out memorabilia that the lucky fans will cherish for some time. He will do great things for the city of Minneapolis, paying back to a community that will come to adore him.

“Obviously (in the NBA), there’s a next level of speed and physicality, so it’s about adjusting to that,” Kessler said. “I don’t think I’ll have an issue with that. I think that I have the right mentality going into it of understanding that I do need to learn and improve.”

My money is on Kessler to exceed expectations in the future. That’s what he did wearing No. 13 for Auburn in every aspect and, like his grandfather, will do for Minnesota in a No. 31 jersey.