Anthony Edwards had quite a weekend. Appearing in his fourth straight All-Star Game, he won his first All-Star Game MVP after leading his team, the Stars, to victory in the round-robin tournament. He scored 32 points over the three games he played, including eight in an easy finals victory over the Stripes.
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Edwards was also one of the main characters of the weekend, even before the games took place. He called out Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic for their notorious lack of effort in the league’s preeminent showcase, and credited Victor Wembanyama for bringing the intensity back to the game.
Much of the talk on Sunday night was about who the face of the league would be going forward. Ant and Wemby. It is clear that Edwards, 24, given his outgoing personality, would thrive in this role. However, though this weekend was undoubtedly a huge win for Ant, not everything that happened was seen in a great light.
No, Edwards doesn’t have the PR mess on his hands that Kevin Durant does. But he still has some explaining to do after a camera caught what he said to his All-Star teammates Jalen Johnson after Sunday night’s win.
“I can’t wait to come home,” Ant said as the two met on the court. Many have taken those words to mean that he plans to leave the Wolves to play for Johnson’s Hawks at some point.
For those unaware, Edwards is from Atlanta and played for the University of Georgia. So it’s understandable that some Wolves fans could be feeling nervous after hearing that.
Edwards followed that comment by saying, “Y’all have so many wings,” while complimenting new Hawk Jonathan Kuminga, too. Now, this is intriguing.
Anthony Edwards to Jalen Johnson:
“I can’t wait to come home”
“Y’all got so many wings, and Kuminga nice too”
— ᴅ ʀ ᴇ ᴡ (@FeelLikeDrew) February 16, 2026
One of the biggest stories of this NBA season has been Giannis Antetokounmpo and the ongoing ‘will he, won’t he’ saga of whether he’ll ask the Bucks for a trade. Those rumors have kept the content mill running nonstop. And if Edwards, who is probably the best young American baller in the world, places himself in a similar situation, it could be an even bigger deal.
Thankfully for Wolves fans, there’s a plausible explanation for Ant’s comments that should calm the situation down, even though the Wolves and Hawks don’t play again this year. The Wolves don’t play their first game back from the break until Friday, February 20. That gives Ant plenty of time to visit his hometown and see family and friends.
“I can’t wait to come home” doesn’t have to be basketball-related at all. As for the wings comment, even if we can rule out that Ant was talking about Magic City’s famous chicken wings, it still doesn’t mean that this comment was tied in any way to him wanting to come home.
Edwards was excited to visit his hometown. And then he changed the subject to compliment Johnson’s team. Nothing deeper to see here.
Edwards has been the face of Minnesota sports since he was drafted in 2020. And he has done nothing but embrace the Land of 1,000 Lakes. He even helped the state promote tourism after he told Charles Barkley to “Bring yo a**” after the Wolves made the conference finals a couple of years ago.
Nothing we’ve seen from Ant has given any indication that he wants to leave Minnesota. And one off-hand comment after the All-Star Game shouldn’t change that. Let’s all let the man have some well-earned free time at home before heading back to work and readying himself and his Wolves for the stretch run.
