Just two days after what Anthony Edwards called the `most important game` of his career – a crucial win against the Golden State Warriors that prevented his team from falling into a 2-0 deficit in the Western Conference semifinals – the Minnesota Timberwolves star faced another challenge on the road in Game 3.
With `Playoff Jimmy` Butler performing at his best, embracing the primary scoring role he perfected in Miami, Edwards – who finished fourth in the league in scoring during the regular season – started slowly. Butler had already put up 18 points in the first half, helping his team, playing without Stephen Curry, take a two-point lead into halftime.
Edwards, on the other hand, managed only eight points in the first half, shooting 3-for-12 overall and just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves were outscored by 11 points during his 20 minutes on the court.
But then, as he often does, the 23-year-old All-Star ignited, showcasing a supreme combination of skill and elite athleticism that frequently leaves even an 18-year veteran like Wolves point guard Mike Conley in awe.
“There`s moments where I`ll go home and I`ll sit there and [think] I could be, right now in this moment, [in the midst of] being a teammate of one of the best players that ever played this game,” Conley told ESPN.
Edwards didn`t just rack up points – he scored 28 in the second half alone – he did so with flair. His second-half highlight reel served as a powerful reminder of why the muscular 6-foot-4, 225-pound shooting guard has already drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan.
There was the dunk late in the third quarter, with his team trailing by five, when he launched from the edge of the semi-circle near the free throw line, finishing with a powerful right-handed slam that left the Warriors` 6-9 power forward Kevon Looney looking like a smashed bug on a windshield in basketball terms.
And there was the 3-pointer early in the fourth, with his team down six. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski refused to give him any room, so Edwards simply created space with a step-back move, reaching the peak of his leap before releasing his shot.
Then came perhaps his most crucial play.
On the left wing, Edwards found himself triple-teamed by Butler, Looney, and Podziemski. Given his evident offensive rhythm, it wouldn`t have surprised anyone if he had risen up to shoot over the three defenders.
Instead, he passed to an open Julius Randle at the top of the key, who then swung the ball to the right wing for Jaden McDaniels, giving him a clean look at a 3-pointer. This shot put Minnesota up by six points with 3:20 remaining. Golden State never narrowed the gap to less than four points after that.
There wasn`t an official statistic directly crediting Edwards for the play; Randle received the assist. But the sequence provided a tangible example of Edwards` real-time development as a complete offensive threat. His improved decision-making has fueled the Wolves` improbable transformation from one of the NBA`s least reliable clutch-time teams to one of its most effective.
Minnesota holds a perfect 4-0 record in games featuring clutch time during this postseason, outscoring opponents 45-16 in those critical minutes, according to ESPN Research.
Edwards has contributed 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting in his 14 clutch minutes this postseason, supplementing that scoring with five assists and zero turnovers – the most assists without a turnover in clutch time by any player in the 2025 playoffs.
“My trainer [Chris] Hines always tells me, `Michael Jordan had Steve Kerr,` ” Edwards told ESPN. “He always tells me stuff like that. So, it`s just being able to trust my teammates.”
However natural it might appear now, achieving this level of trust and decision-making has been a season-long journey.
Five months ago, Edwards entered the Chase Center for the second game of a back-to-back series against the Golden State Warriors. The Wolves lost 114-106, dropping their season record to 12-11 – and Edwards played a significant role in the defeat.
After leading a comeback in the third quarter, scoring 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the fourth, he proceeded to hinder his team`s efforts. In the crucial crunch time, he shot 0-for-6 with a turnover. The Warriors ended the game on a 9-0 run.
The Wolves had witnessed this pattern before.
“In the last five minutes, he just wanted to score, score, score because he wanted to prove to the Warriors that he can knock `em out,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch told ESPN. “He came into the team afterwards and he apologized. He said, `That`s on me.` He just stopped kind of creating for everybody down the stretch.”
What made Finch even more frustrated was the fact that just two days prior, the Wolves had comfortably defeated the Warriors, with Edwards contributing 30 points and nine assists.
“He played an amazing game,” Finch said.
Hines remembers that loss well – and the lessons learned from it.
“He`s the kid that you tell him not to eat chocolate and he`s got chocolate on his face,” Hines told ESPN. “And you`re like, `Hey dude, did you just eat the chocolate?` He`s like, `No.` We just told you dude, don`t eat the chocolate! So that`s him.”
Despite his obvious struggles with late-game execution, his teammates were drawn to him.
“That was part of our growth as a team,” Randle told ESPN. “And it really wasn`t on him. He was like, `F it, let me try to will our team to a win.` He`s the ultimate competitor. But he was able to recognize, `Hey man, I got to be better.` That`s just who Ant is. He`s not hesitant to take the blame – and obviously he is going to get praise – but he constantly wants to get better.”
Hines notes that Edwards sees himself as an alpha player and is drawn to fierce competitors like Jordan and Kobe Bryant. However, all of Jordan`s six championships were won before Edwards was born, and his birthdate was two months after Bryant`s second NBA title. Therefore, Hines continues to educate Edwards about their games, going beyond just the dunks and game-winning shots that are popular on social media.
“Jordan had Steve Kerr,” Hines said. “He had [John] Paxson. LeBron [James] had Boobie Gibson at times. Guys who would really make these shots, timely shots. The [Robert] Horrys and whatnot, throughout the history of the game. And if he doesn`t study that type of stuff, then he`s going to keep bumping his head against a brick wall.”
“So it`s been a good transition for him to see it. We`ll watch clips of Kobe when he hits Rick Fox [with a pass]. Ant`s like, `Who`s Rick Fox?` He had no clue who Rick Fox is. But he sees he hit the shot. So he`s getting a really good understanding of the history of the game and how it`s repeating itself [with him].”
Edwards admits he has found it challenging to move beyond his hero-ball tendencies.
“My first couple of times in the playoffs down the stretch, I always just wanted to win the game myself,” Edwards said. “Because growing up, when you watch the games, you always think like, `Oh, they always hit the big shots!` But sometimes they make the extra pass, the right play.”
Yet, despite his aspiration to emulate the late-game heroics of Jordan and Bryant, he has struggled in those specific situations. In his regular-season career, he is 0-for-15 (0-for-10 on 3-pointers) on shots to tie or take the lead in the final 10 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, according to ESPN Research. Including the playoffs, his record is 1-for-18.
This season, Minnesota posted a 20-26 record in close games – ranking second in the league for most clutch-time losses – and Edwards was a significant factor. He was 0-for-7 on those crucial tying or go-ahead shots – the highest number of such attempts without a make in the league this season and tied for the most without a make over the past five seasons.
Edwards` coaches and teammates aren`t trying to suppress his innate desire to take over games, they emphasize. It`s about adding another dimension to his game while also preparing him for the defensive pressure he inevitably faces.
He is clearly learning.
“That`s the balance he`s been having to deal with because he`s a go, go, go kind of guy,” Conley said. “And we tell him all the time, we want him to be aggressive to score. Don`t even think about us as, `Oh, let me try to get Mike the ball.` I think that`s when he slows down a little bit, when he`s like, `Oh, I just need to pass it.` He becomes just a passer.”
“So it`s just about getting him to understand, stay in an attacking mode, be aggressive all the time, but while you`re doing that, can you process it? Can you pick it up when you see somebody last minute come over to help, you know where your outlet is? And I think that`s where he`s getting to.”
It`s not yet second nature. “Every three possessions, I`m going to shoot one out of three,” Edwards said. “Especially down the stretch.”
He has a mental rhythm: pass, pass, shoot. Or shoot, pass, pass. Or pass, shoot, pass. He has also been motivated to pass more because he has worked on improving his catch-and-shoot jumpers. He`s learning to play like the role players he`s encouraged to pass to, not just passing to them.
He refined this skill last summer when he was coached by Steve Kerr at the Olympics and teamed up with Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and his idol, Kevin Durant.
“KD told me being able to catch and shoot the ball is going to be the biggest thing for me,” Edwards said.
Sometimes, the message resonates differently depending on the messenger.
“We`ve been trying to get him to do that for a number of years because the numbers were so good,” Finch said. “He was such a good catch-and-shoot shooter, but he had always played with this rhythm with the ball in his hands, tried to generate his own shot off the dribble. So I think it felt a little uncomfortable, even though he had great success.”
His success in Paris last summer, winning a gold medal, changed him for the better, according to his teammates.
“He talks about Team USA more than he`s talked about anything. And he talks a lot,” Conley said. “I think it opened up a new world for him.”
At the same time, it reinforced his confidence. “[It] put him in a realm of, `Look, they`re just like me. F—, I`m [actually] better,` in his head,” Hines said.
As his evolution continues, Edwards has led the Wolves to within one win of a second consecutive conference finals appearance. He assisted Conley on a 3-pointer with 1:22 left in Game 5 of the first round to secure the win against the Lakers; but he`s also still the player who scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter of Game 4 of the second round to give the Wolves a 3-1 lead over the Warriors.
And the Wolves organization believes he possesses the potential to finally guide them to the first championship in the franchise`s 36-year history.
“I have been around a lot of great players. He is as confident in his belief in himself as … it`s Kobe-like. And I was around Kobe,” Randle told ESPN.
“He`s not scared of any moment and he wants those moments. His belief and confidence in who he is as a player is the highest I`ve ever seen or been around, for anybody.”
As Edwards has grown to trust the teammates around him, they have reciprocated that trust.
“We preach to him: `Make the right play, make the right play,` ” Finch said. “Ant said to me one time, `Maybe I`m the right play.` “
“And he`s not wrong.”
