It wasn’t that long ago that NBA experts were laughing at the Minnesota Timberwolves when they agreed to a deal two weeks before the start of season that sent franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. The Wolves looked disjointed for the first half of the year, but are playing like one of the best teams in the NBA. Now, they’re in the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row, thanks not only to their new additions, but also face of the franchise, Anthony Edwards.
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Edwards has become one of the best players in the league. He led the Wolves past Luka Dončić, LeBron James and the Lakers in a relatively stress-free first-round win, then he had little issue beating a Golden State Warriors team that was without Steph Curry for most of the series.
The Wolves got through both series in five games, but now they’ll face an even tougher test when they take on the No. 1 seed in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC is favored, due to their absurd 68-14 regular season record, but the Wolves have to be confident in their chances because of Edwards’ continued evolution as a player.
Dwyane Wade has been impressed by what he’s seen from Edwards, not only on the court, but off it, as well. “[Edwards] talked about the moment this year when he threw the birds up, when he got techs for flipping [the refs off],” the superstar shooting guard said on his podcast. “And he talked about, ‘You know what, I can’t do that. That was a young mistake that I made.’ But he took onus of the mistake as a young man, making a young mistake.”
Wade saw growth in the way Edwards recognized his own immaturity and sought to correct it. That’s leadership, and it gives a glimpse into how even at 23, Edwards has already led the Timberwolves to the greatest period of sustained success in their franchise history.
An imperfect Anthony Edwards is the perfect face of the league
The face of the NBA is a subjective debate at the moment, but Edwards is certainly in the conversation. He’s also a very different candidate than the league has ever had. Think back to Magic Johnson’s dazzling smile or Larry Bird’s Midwestern affect. Even Michael Jordan took great pains never to offend anyone when he once famously said, “Republicans buy sneakers too.”
Edwards is a different breed. He’s racked up technical fouls during his career and paid a hefty amount in fines, from offenses ranging from throwing the ball in the stands after being ejected to using profanity on live TV. Even though he’s done a better job of keeping his emotions in check lately, he’s still done some wild things, such as telling a Lakers fan, “My d*** bigger than yours” as he made an obscene gesture during their first-round series.
Wade thinks that Edwards’ flaws are what make him such a relatable role model. “That’s why to me he’s the face of the game. He’s not perfect, and he don’t wanna be perfect. That’s the world that we live in, none of us are perfect. But to be able to make mistakes and own up to it and man up to it, and then you see growth … right in front of our eyes.”
If Edwards can overcome the 68-win Thunder and get Minnesota to its first NBA Finals in franchise history, he’ll take yet another step toward being the face of the league, especially since he’d have to take down likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to do it. Game 1 is tomorrow night at OKC at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
