Timberwolves Anthony Edwards far more than an elite scorer

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost many a winnable game, despite being rather short-handed, over the course of the 2022-23 NBA season. But to highlight a few contributing factors, I’d like to focus on a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder played on December 3, 2022. On December 3, 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped a game to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center by a score of 135 to 128.

You see,  in the aftermath, nobody can fault Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards. His stat line for the game was very impressive:

37 MP | 26 Pts | 3 Reb | 33.3 3P% | 4 Ast | 6 Stl | 0 Blk

Looking back at that game after the season is over, it’s easy to view that one as a game that got away. In a game decided by seven points, the Timberwolves would only get six points from starting center Rudy Gobert, despite the fact that he made all three shots taken in that game.

In that game, Anthony Edwards was on fire. Not only was he a runner-up in scoring for the Timberwolves with 26 points, but he was on fire in the game with six steals. In fact, he opened the month of December 2022 with consecutive games where he scored 26 points and snatch six steals.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns (Out – strained calf), Rudy Gobert (ejected Q2), and Taurean Prince (Out – shoulder), but apparently, the remaining players on the Timberwolves roster didn’t get the memo.

The Timberwolves frequently found themselves severely shorthanded in winnable games throughout the season. While it’s easy to look back in disdain at a Timberwolves team that did not win every game in the season, it was not an easy route to travel for a team that was making introductions among players all the way to the 2023 NBA Playoffs. But much like the Minnesota Timberwolves, SG Anthony Edwards is facing a moment of truth:

Sometimes lessons are costly but incredibly valuable. The Timberwolves learned that SG Anthony Edwards is far more than an elite scorer. In fact, he is the new leader of the team going forward. And the USA team that is prepared to compete for the 2023 FIBA WC is banking on it.

Perhaps that is why I believe that the best is yet to come.