Anthony Edwards has been incredible this year. I want to make that clear. He is averaging 28.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 49.4/41.8/82.5 shooting splits. By all accounts, the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar has taken a leap, especially as a scorer.
With the Wolves replacing Mike Conley with Donte DiVincenzo in the starting lineup, they're operating without a traditional point guard. Ant's the closest thing to a point guard. In fact, Cleaning the Glass says that Edwards spends 51 percent of his time as a point guard.
Head coach Chris Finch has said that Ant is "more of" the Wolves' point guard. Many pundits have been quick to call Edwards the Wolves' true point guard and believe that this change is permanent.
Despite Edwards' greatness, I don't think having him essentially play point guard is sustainable over the course of an 82-game season and playoffs. Can Ant play some point guard and even start as the "PG"? Absolutely. Does Edwards still need another guard who can truly take some pressure off him? I would also say yes. Eventually, I think a trade will be necessary.
The Wolves' starting five is point guard by committee not point-Ant
I also don't think it's fully accurate to call Edwards a point guard. What are positions even in the modern NBA? Yes, Ant is the closest thing to a point guard in the starting lineup, and he handles the ball a lot. However, it's often Julius Randle who initiates the offense for others.
Randle leads the team in assists (5.9), and they often use him to set up offense as a playmaking hub. Even still, Randle is more of a point-forward or secondary playmaker. DiVincenzo has been awesome as an on-ball guard and spot-up shooter, but he isn't a primary ball-handler.
To me, the Wolves' starting five is more of a point guard by committee or point guard less lineup than a point-Ant lineup.
Edwards is great but he's not a real point guard
Edwards has improved in terms of making the right read and handling double teams. Regardless, he's still far from an elite playmaker. This season, Edwards is averaging 3.9 assists and 3.0 turnovers. While this is a slight reduction in turnovers, it's a three-year low in assists for Ant.
I get the idea of point Ant, the Wolves need him to have the ball in his hands more often than not, to be at their best. That's due to his elite scoring, not playmaking, though. Having someone else in the backcourt to playmake and create for himself next to Ant would greatly benefit him.
The increased ball pressure teams are putting on Edwards as a PnR ball-handler because the roll to Gobert is not ideal offense, or they want to force others to beat them is frustrating.
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) December 5, 2025
But the flashes of heroism we have begun to get out of Ant are hard to be disappointed with. https://t.co/Qz6Rdo6xgv pic.twitter.com/W3pY7qBocr
It's hard to argue with the Wolves' ranking in the 97th percentile for efficiency differential (per Cleaning the Glass), with Edwards as the PG. Let's be honest, though, that's partly because when he's not a point guard, he's playing with Conley or Rob Dillingham, who haven't been effective.
Last season, the Wolves had a higher efficiency differential (plus-6.2 compared to plus-3.8) with Edwards as the shooting guard. And for how great the Wolves have been with Edwards as the "point guard," or as I like to call it, a point guard-less lineup, their clutch time offense leaves much to be desired.
In clutch time, the Wolves' offensive rating plummets from seventh to 18th. Furthermore, they have the highest (21.7) turnover percentage in the clutch. While there are many issues, this mainly highlights the need for a point guard next to Edwards. A traditional point guard (who can also create for himself) would help take the pressure away Ant on the ball and help set him more off-ball.
Ultimately, the "point-Ant" experiment is interesting and has some clear benefits, but I would expect a trade to be made so Edwards can play more of his natural role.