Terrence Shannon Jr. does not appear in the Timberwolves' opening game

The NBA is back!

After what feels like an eternity of waiting to see the world's best players play the sport at the highest level, it's finally back.

With the regular season beginning Tuesday night, it was the first opportunity to watch a former Illini record his first minutes of his rookie season.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted Illini star Terrence Shannon Jr. and the Minnesota Timberwolves in one of two games on the NBA's opening night, in which the Wolves suffered a 110-103 loss.

And the former Illini didn't get any minutes.

Although the Wolves never had the lead throughout the game, Shannon never had the opportunity to step in and get his season going.

Shannon wasn't the only rookie who didn't play for the Wolves, as former Kentucky guard Robert Dillingham also played 0 minutes that night.

Even though the squad is deep, Shannon will get his chance.

The Timberwolves have one of the deepest rosters in the entire league, and with their recent trade that sent center Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for power forward Julius Randle and shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo, that's not doing Shannon any favors with playing time .

Especially when it comes to the guards.

Superstar Anthony Edwards, veteran Mike Conley and now DiVincenzo will definitely be doing most of the talking.

Especially early in the season it will be difficult to give Shannon the chance to play, but with 81 games left hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities to see him do what we expect him to do in his time as coach have seen Illini.

In the meantime, Shannon must continue to wait to make a name for herself.

However, looking at the bigger picture, this is a core that could potentially make a big contribution to its development. He will be able to learn a lot from guys who have been established in the league for quite some time.

Shannon and the Timberwolves will look to bounce back when they travel to California for their game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday at 9 p.m. CT.