Donte DiVincenzo felt as though he was cementing himself as an NBA starter in Year 3 of his pro career. The wing was opening games for the championship-contending Milwaukee Bucks, starting alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.

Those all-star caliber players made his life easy, and he capitalized on the opportunities. His career trajectory was crystalizing.

And then, in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, DiVincenzo went down with a torn ligament in his ankle that required surgery. His postseason was over. Milwaukee went on to win the title, and DiVincenzo won a ring. But he wasn’t able to return to action until December of the following season.

When he got back on the court, he envisioned things going a certain way as he continued his career ascension. But they didn’t. DiVincenzo likened it to experiencing his rookie season all over again as he struggled to find his way.

“When you go down, you come back from going down, you’re not what you were the year before,” he said. “The whole team is different, we just won a championship, everybody’s role is different, we’ve got new guys coming in and when you’re trying to (be what you were before), I’ve seen guys do that and it doesn’t work and they end up not playing again. I did it, and I end up getting traded.

He didn’t play well and, 17 games after returning to action, he was shipped off to the Sacramento Kings.

It might be the best thing that ever happened to his career.

Because in the following offseason, he signed with the Golden State Warriors.

Bring up to DiVincenzo now that his offensive game reeks of Golden State and you’ll get a laugh. It’s an appreciated compliment for someone who admired and has since tried to incorporate so much of what he soaked in during his season in San Francisco.

Watch DiVincenzo on Tuesday in Minnesota’s season opener in Los Angeles and you’ll notice that he does not stop moving on the offensive end. It’s very Steph Curry, Klay Thompson-esque.

“Never standing still. Because when you’re standing still, the defense is resting. When you’re moving around, they’re going to mess up at some point. It might be within the first five, six seconds of the clock, or it might be in the last three seconds,” DiVincenzo said. “You may not get the shot, but when you’re moving around, you’re making it hard for the defense. Somebody else might get the shot, and that’s the only thing you can hope for — a wide-open shot.”

For who? Doesn’t matter to DiVincenzo. Not even now.

That wouldn’t be the case for everyone in his shoes. After that year in Golden State, DiVincenzo signed with the Knicks last offseason. And, as New York suffered one injury after another, his role continued to grow.

By year’s end, he and Jalen Brunson were effectively the last men standing for the Knicks’ offense. Over his final 48 games, including the playoffs, DiVincenzo averaged more than 20 points per game while hitting 39 percent of his 3-point attempts. He scored 25-plus points in four of New York’s seven second-round playoffs games against Indiana.

Not only was he knocking down open shots, he was creating them for others off the bounce.

DiVincenzo noted those weren’t skills he just discovered last season.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said DiVincenzo had “a ton of game” dating back to his college year at Villanova. But, in the NBA, your situation determines how much of your game goes on display.

“Everybody in (the practice facility) is working on their game. And there’s a lot of stuff in here that you may never see. But when the opportunity presents itself, then you take full advantage,” DiVincenzo said. “By the end of the year, you’re looking around like, ‘Damn, I’m doing everything that I’ve worked on, and I’m doing it consistently and I’m doing it efficiently.’”

It was all-star-type stuff. And once those skills see the light of game, they rarely are stuffed back into the box. DiVincenzo noted coaches don’t want players to go backwards, they want you to grow and elevate.

Throughout training camp, Finch noted the guard was capable of even more than he assumed.

“Hopefully, here, we can fully maximize him,” Finch said.

DiVincenzo said he’s a better player now than he was in the playoffs a few months ago, as well. He improves every season. His confidence is at an “all-time high.”

If his responsibilities do continue to expand along with that, anything seems possible. Sixth Man of the Year? Potentially even all-star?

He’s not considering any of that because he’s learned nothing good happens when you focus on individual accolades. Thanks to Golden State.

“You can look at Draymond Green to where you can average six points a game and he’s a hall of famer. It doesn’t matter,” DiVincenzo said. “Then you look at Klay (Thompson), just look at guys who have been so successful in not trying to do something outside of themselves, but still are starring in their role.”

They’re not role players. DiVincenzo used that word to describe himself, and when pressed on the term, noted he doesn’t view himself that way, but added it’s a construct often used when discussing team building.

“You look at the superstar and you look at, ‘Alright, how do guys play their role around them?’ ” he said. “The superstar (teaming up) thing hasn’t worked yet, in my opinion. I wouldn’t classify Klay and Draymond as role players, but they (frickin’) play their role extremely well. So I think, for me, it’s finding what my role is, doing it extremely well and then just being a basketball player.”

He’s good with whatever that role is. For the Timberwolves, it could be wide and diverse. If it’s not, he won’t complain. He learned long ago that, in the NBA, the adaptable survive and prosper.

Finch called DiVincenzo “plug and play” with any team. He can fit in any lineup alongside any player. The 27-year-old takes pride in the fluidity of his game and his ability to identify what’s required to earn minutes on any specific team and then execute it to the best of his abilities.

“I can fit right in and just try to make the game as easy as possible for the guys on the court with me,” DiVincenzo said.

It’s why all of his teammates, as well as the head coach, have raved about DiVincenzo since his arrival in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards said playing with the sharpshooter is “incredible.” In the preseason, the Timberwolves scored 1.27 points per possession with DiVincenzo in the game, the second-best mark of any player across the NBA.

“I’ve always loved to watch him because he’s the type of player I really respect. He plays hard, doesn’t cheat the game. You can tell that he really loves to win and loves to compete and he’s not into any type of (crap),” center Rudy Gobert said. “He’s a straight winner and he will do whatever it takes to win. He makes all the winning plays, all the little things that might not show up on the stats.”

There are few players in the NBA who can produce at an all-star level without the ball in their hands. The Timberwolves have one now, and he looks like he was created in a lab to perfectly fit the coach’s preferred style of play.

Finch said players like DiVincenzo are “priceless.”

Veteran Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has quickly taken a liking to DiVincenzo, calling him a “phenomenal” player who’s “really easy to play with” and underrated defensively.

“A lot of the great teams that win, they have that star that’s a role player that you’d want on every single team,” Conley said. “You’d trade people for that guy, because he’s one of those guys who can help build your team up and lead you to where you want to get to. So, he’s special.”

So much so that the Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns to get him. The Wolves were on the doorstep of an NBA title last season before falling just short as they were unable to adapt to the challenges Dallas presented in the Western Conference Finals.

In DiVincenzo, the Timberwolves have found a chameleon capable of shifting gears at a moment’s notice. That might be what’s required for them to take one final step and achieve their ultimate goal of a championship.

“Do what you’re asked to do,” DiVincenzo said. “When you put winning first, and you put the team first, I think good things happen. If you win, everybody eats around you.”