Dain Dainja drops 3 word reaction as Anthony Edwards' teammate dons Memphis guard's merch

Memphis Tigers forward Dain Dainja has recently received love from one of his former teammates when he was still with the Illinois Fighting Illini. On Saturday, May 31, the Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, native posted on his X account that current Minnesota Timberwolves guard and former Fighting Illini standout Terrence Shannon Jr. was wearring one of Dainja's merch pieces during an interview.

The interview was posted by basketball reporter Andrew Dukowitz, who was conducting it during the post-game press conference when Shannon Jr. and the Timberwolves were eliminated from the 2025 NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference Finals by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dainja has since noticed that the NBA rookie was rocking a "DainjaZone" hoodie that comes from his own line.

"DainjaZone hoodie Crazyyyyyyy," Dainja captioned with several emojis.

In the 11-second video, Shannon Jr. was asked about how he is looking to grow his role with the Anthony Edwards-led Timberwolves in the 2025-26 season. Minnesota is no longer in contention for the 2025 NBA championship after losing their conference finals series to the Thunder, 4-1, on Thursday, May 29, after they lost the do-or-die game five.

Dainja and Shannon Jr. were once teammates in coach Brad Underwood's Illinois program from 2022 to 2024. In their final year together in the 2023-24 campaign, the Fighting Illini finished with an overall record of 29-9, including 14-6 during Big Ten conference play that year. They also made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2024 March Madness, losing to the eventual champion UConn Huskies, 77-52.

Dain Dainja is returning to the Memphis Tigers after withdrawing his name from the transfer portal

On Apr. 17, Dain Dainja, through his agents Noah Reisenfeld and Adie Vongontard, announced that he is entering the transfer portal after just one year with coach Penny Hardaway's Memphis Tigers. Dainja is looking to exhaust one last year of college basketball eligbility, but even after this report, it was then confirmed that Dainja has rescinded his name from the portal on Apr. 22.

This could mean that Dainja is looking to run it back with the Tigers after he spent his fourth season of collegiate hoops with the program. Dainja spent his first campaign with the Baylor Bears and then the next two with the Illinois Fighting Illini, before finding his way to Memphis. In that span, the standout swingman averaged 9.8 markers, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks a game.