Charles Barkley Warns Anthony Edwards About the Consequences of Publicly Defying Head Coach Chris Finch

When the going gets tough, teams want the ball in their superstar’s hands. The Minnesota Timberwolves follow that philosophy for the most part, but tried to stray away during their recent win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, Anthony Edwards took matters into his own hands, revealing that he went against head coach Chris Finch’s orders.

The Timberwolves found themselves in a close game against the Clippers on Thursday night. After Edwards’ shot selection didn’t sit well with Finch, he implored his star player to make the extra pass instead of forcing a difficult shot. Edwards went on to ignore his coach’s wishes and take a severely contested three-pointer with seconds left on the shot clock.

Thankfully, the shot went in. However, cameras caught Edwards immediately shouting some words at Finch. Following the game, the reigning All-Star Game MVP shed light on what took place during that interaction.

“Me and my coach  got the best relationship ever,” Edwards told the media. “I mean, he be right most of the time, 98% of the time, he be right. He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot it instead. And it went in. The basketball gods was on my side tonight.”

Edwards understood that he was a bit out of line, but that’s what happens in the heat of competition. The consequences would’ve been significantly worse if he had missed and Minnesota had gone on to lose the game. Regardless, some people aren’t fans of the optics of Edwards’ actions; Charles Barkley being chief among them.

“I think Anthony has to be careful,” Barkley said on ESPN’s Inside the NBA. “Anthony is a great player, but if he’s not gonna listen to the coach, he kind of handicaps the coach.”

By all accounts, it appears that Edwards and Finch have a great relationship. However, Edwards is the face of the franchise. The way he interacts with Finch sets the tone for how everyone else does. If he shows it’s okay to overstep, it could have a trickle down effect with other players on the roster.

“The other players are watching like, ‘You let Ant do stuff. You can’t talk to me. I did the same thing Ant did,'” Barkley proclaimed.

The Hall-of-Fame forward has an excellent point. Barkley’s cohost, Shaquille O’Neal, however, commended Edwards on being confident enough in his abilities to lead the charge.

“I like playing with a guy like that. Kobe, D-Wade, and Penny were all like that. You need that guy that say, ‘Hey, I’m taking the last shot. I don’t care what nobody says,'” O’Neal said.

This won’t be a problem as long as everybody understands their role on the team. The Timberwolves have built a great culture on the backs of Edwards and Finch. This shouldn’t be something to look too closely into, but certainly should be monitored.