NBA's McKinley Wright IV Says Having A-Rod As T-Wolves Owner Is A 'Blessing'

It's safe to say Alex Rodriguez is fitting in as part-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves ... 'cause rookie guard McKinley Wright IV tells TMZ Sports it's a huge advantage!!!

We spoke with Wright out in NYC this week ... and asked the 23-year-old how it is to have the Yankees legend on board.

"Big blessings," Wright said. "One of the G.O.A.T.'s on the baseball field. It's a blessing."

Wright -- who's in his first season with the team after 4 years at Colorado -- mentioned that he and Alex have spoken ... and the 2-time MVP gave him some sound advice.

"Just continue to be yourself," Wright says A-Rod told him, "And be who you are. Don't change for nobody. Do what you gotta do to win games."

Of course, A-Rod's tenure as an NBA owner got off to a pricey start -- back in November, Minnesota was slapped with a $250,000 fine after he hosted a team gathering at his Miami mansion during the offseason.

Unfortunately, for Alex and Co., the NBA had a rule in place that prohibited teams from organizing or paying for offseason practices -- in addition to restricting teams from conducting workout sessions outside of their market.