While Thielen's the most accomplished of the lot, he admitted he's not taking anything for granted, and the presence of guys like Xavier Legette and McMillan is keeping him sharp, in addition to his role as a part-time assistant coach working with a couple of first-rounders.
"I think for the first time here since I've been here, you look around the room and, like, I don't know who's going to make the team," Thielen said. "And that's a great thing that competition breeds just elevation of play, and you hear Dan and Dave talk about that all the time. They just want just want to raise the floor. And when you raise the floor, it raises the ceiling. So I'm excited about what that brings.
"I know it's made me have to step up my game and get better and better and prove my worth. At the end of the day, the more players you have in a room, on the offense, on a team, the more you have to prove yourself every day, and it makes you better."