In the three seasons prior to the current one, Anthony Edwards missed just three games in each of them for nine total. Ant-Man truly has been one of the game’s most durable superstars in an era of load management. Edwards isn’t down for the random rest games.
This season, though, Edwards has missed 10 of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first 56 outings. While he is on pace to reach the 65-game minimum threshold to be eligible for end-of-year awards and honors, it isn’t a sure thing.
Edwards has always been durable in his career
While I fully believe that Ant will play at minimum 65 games, he has missed enough where the conversation needs to be had. This year, it has mostly been a right hamstring ailment that has caused him to miss games. Edwards missed four straight to end October/begin November and another 3 in mid-December due to that hamstring.
So in Minnesota’s last 29 games, Edwards has appeared in 26 of them. The Timberwolves have just 26 games remaining, so at that same rate, Ant would only miss two or three more. Given his injury history entering this season, it would seem plausible to believe that he won’t miss more than that.
This season in his 46 outings, Edwards is averaging a career-best 29.3 points with career-high shooting marks from outside of the arc (40.2%) and inside of it as well (55.6%).
All-NBA First Team?
Barring complete dominance in the post-All-Star break schedule from both Edwards and the team, Ant-Man is not going to win MVP. The last two seasons, he has finished tied for seventh and seventh in MVP voting. A similar finish could be in store for the 24-year-old. According to the most recent edition of the Kia MVP ladder, Edwards is in eighth.
Two of the players ahead of him, though, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, can’t afford to miss too many more games to remain eligible. If Minnesota can go on a similar run to last year after the All-Star break (18-6), perhaps Edwards can make his way onto the All-NBA first team. He has received second-team honors each of the last two years.
One thing that Timberwolves fans don't have to worry about is Ant deciding to sit out a random game. That is doubly true with how tight the Western Conference is, with the Timberwolves sitting in sixth, but just 1.5 games behind the third-place Denver Nuggets.