Anthony Edwards has only just begun his second season in the NBA, but the former No. 1 overall pick has already established himself as one of the most entertaining and enjoyable players in the entire league — both on and off the court. If his performance on opening night was any indication, that status isn’t changing any time soon.
Edwards was electric on Wednesday night, helping lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 124-106 win over the Houston Rockets. He finished with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists, and showed improvements in multiple areas in which he struggled last season. Shooting 10-of-21 from the field, he was efficient overall and showed off a much-improved 3-point stroke as he knocked down six 3-pointers. Just for the sake of comparison, he only made six or more 3s in two games during his rookie campaign.
It was that outside attack that helped break the game open for the Wolves, and also set the stage for a moment of classic showmanship from Edwards. With the Wolves up by six in the early stages of the second quarter, Edwards hit the first of his four 3s in the frame, and jump-started a 35-14 run that extended the lead to 27 points at halftime.
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Towards the end of the quarter, Edwards got Christian Wood isolated on the perimeter and broke out a whole series of dribbling combinations before making a step-back 3 in his face. Then, a few seconds later, after the Wolves came up with a steal, Edwards buried another triple in transition. With the crowd on its feet, Edwards turned to deliver a message to the Rockets’ bench: call a timeout.
After the game, he summed the situation up nicely. “Yeah I was tellin’ the coach to call a damn timeout,” Edwards said. “You need a timeout. I’m hot.”
Awesome. Edwards is just plain cool, and that kind of swagger and confidence in his abilities is exactly why he’s become such an exciting young player and a fan favorite — not just in Minneapolis, but around the league.
