Last season, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards took the NBA by storm by becoming a deadly outside shooter. Notably, Edwards led the league in made 3s (320) and attempted 3s (811), all while shooting a career-best 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Wolves have title hopes entering the season, and they'll undoubtedly need Edwards' shooting to continue to reach their goal.
Edwards' growth as a shooter
After trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves' floor spacing, especially in the starting lineup, took a hit. However, Edwards stepped up to fill this void. Developing a consistent outside shot is crucial for any scorer in the modern NBA. This, paired with Edwards' already elite finishing, helped him move up the ranks of the league's best scorers. He had exceeded 40 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s in the previous three seasons, so the writing was on the wall for him to develop more as a shooter.
Edwards' biggest area of growth as a shooter was his pull-up game. While Edwards was comfortable as a pull-up shooter, he was never very efficient with this shot before last season. His 38.5 percent shooting on pull-up 3s smashed his previous career high of 33.8. Furthermore, Edwards increased his volume from 4.5 pull-up 3s in the 2023-24 season to 7.6 last season. Edwards' 230 made pull-up 3s led the NBA by a significant margin, with James Harden's 184 being the second most. Seeing a player increase their volume and efficiency while consistently hitting difficult shots is incredibly impressive.
Anthony Edwards pull-up 3s pic.twitter.com/KlDQCJ79be
— Eamon Cassels (@EamonCassels) August 12, 2025
Edwards' shooting is key to the Wolves success
Edwards' growth as a shooter isn't just a cool talking point; it translates to winning basketball. Notably, when Ant hit five or more triples, the Wolves posted a 22-7 record, which is a 61-win pace. Undoubtedly, in today's NBA, you need 3-point shooting to win, and Edwards provides that much-desired skill set at an elite level. Edwards made 4.1 3s per game, DiVincenzo (2.8), and Naz Reid (2.1) were next up. In terms of the total 3s, Reid's 175 trailed Edwards' 320 for the second most on the team. Ant was the clear catalyst in the Wolves' ranking fifth in made 3s per game.
While having the high-level shooting of Reid and DiVincenzo off the bench is nice, Edwards' shooting kept the Wolves' starting lineup alive. Edwards is the Wolves' only consistent shooter in the starting lineup. Unless Jaden McDaniels develops a consistent outside shot and/or Randle's numbers are closer to his playoff averages, the Wolves will need Edwards to continue being one of the league's most dominant shooters.
Given that Edwards improved his outside shot at 23 years old and how dominant a shooter he was last year, it's likely this trend continues. Nevertheless, Edwards' shooting will be essential for the Wolves to remain a top 10 offense and ultimately compete for a title.