Despite being just 24 years old, one has to believe that Anthony Edwards has a lot of pull in the Timberwolves’ locker room. That usually comes with being the best player on your team.
While Minnesota saw its five-game losing streak come to an end on Monday against the Suns, Chris Finch made an adjustment to his rotation. Instead of Rob Dillingham receiving spot minutes, his playing time went to Bones Hyland. Hyland scored 14 of the team’s 23 points off the bench (in just 16 minutes), and going by postgame comments, it seems as if Edwards has been a big fan of the 25-year-old.
Ant-Man is a fan of Bones
Prior to Monday’s game, it had been quite a while since we last saw Hyland playing meaningful minutes for the Timberwolves. If you recall, on opening night, he surprisingly received playing time over Dillingham, who was a DNP-CD. For just the second time this year, Dillingham wasn’t called off the bench in a game he was active, again with Finch instead turning to Hyland.
Hyland certainly capitalized on the situation, connecting on two 3-pointers after first checking in during the second quarter. Re-entering the game early in the fourth quarter, Hyland scored another eight points with another pair of treys. For the night, the fifth-year guard shot 5-8 from the field, 4-6 from beyond the arc, and had three assists (although he also turned the ball over three times). The team was a plus-7 during his time on the court.
After the game, Edwards heaped the ultimate praise on Hyland, as seen here via Timberwolves’ reporter Andrew Dukowitz on X:
Anthony Edwards on what he likes about Bones Hyland
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) December 9, 2025
“Everything, yeah, you know like how sometimes you can just see that some people are just meant to be a star? I feel like I may not know the criteria to being a star but if I think I do I think he’s one of them.” pic.twitter.com/9bOcfV88nC
Now, Edwards was certainly being humble by stating that he may not know the criteria for being a star. He is universally seen in that light. Very few, if any, see Hyland being 1 as well, though, so receiving that stamp of approval from Ant-Man will turn some heads.
While Hyland may have worn out his welcome in previous stops with the Nuggets and Clippers, he has always shown the ability to score the basketball. That was showcased from the get-go as he averaged double figures in scoring in each of his first two seasons.
Dillingham hasn't earned the right to remain in the rotation
With Edwards seemingly having a load of belief in Hyland, it is somewhat surprising that Finch had him toiling on the bench for all this time. Finch may have felt the need to play Dillingham, though, due to what they invested in him.
In 21 outings, Dillingham is averaging just 3.7 points on poor efficiency (34.8 percent from the field, 28.6 percent on threes). His only game of double-digit scoring came a month ago (11 points on November 9), and he went scoreless in three of his last four outings.
With the Timberwolves having one of the league’s least productive benches, it’s pertinent to find scoring in any way possible. With the high expectations that the Wolves have for themselves, they can’t be concerned with how they acquired Dillingham. As long as Hyland continues to provide a spark, he should be the one remaining in the rotation.