A day after Anthony Edwards dropped 47 points during the Minnesota Timberwolves first loss of the season, ESPN’s Shams Charania hit us with some devastating news.
There were murmurs about the health of Anthony Edwards’ knees heading into this season. After developing “runner’s knee” in his right knee last season,
he had to miss a handful of games with the ailment. The All-NBA guard went into the postseason hurting, but then brutally hyperextended his left knee in the postseason against the Denver Nuggets. He worked his butt off to get back on the court in time for the second round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, despite operating at suboptimal health.
Edwards was listed as questionable leading up to tip-off on Monday, but ultimately exploded for a season-high in points. However, he had already been seen wincing in pain and grabbing at his knee throughout the previous contests. He’s even missed postgame media availability all season due to getting treatment on that very knee. Ant is notorious for playing through injury, but despite averaging a career-best 33.3 points per game this season, the Wolves award-winning medical staff decided this was the best route to go. A more long-term fix instead of season-long management.
Still, this sucks.
The Wolves were one of the most exciting and fun stories early in this season. Their 3-1 start and blossoming chemistry on and off the court was the talk of many shows and podcasts. This is a stark reality check that things can be snatched away in an instant. No one knows that more than the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who recently lost two starters in Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to even more brutal and long-term injuries. There appeared to be a window for another Western Conference team to burst through.
That can still be the Timberwolves!
Luckily for Minnesota, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly has built this iteration of the team to be deep at the guard position. Ayo Dosunmu, fresh off signing a new five-year contract, has been nothing short of awesome for the Wolves. He’ll likely get first dibs at starting for the next few months. Terrence Shannon Jr. has found his footing this season, providing a steady offensive punch that his team will desperately need. There are decent peripheral options to backfill the bench guard positions between Jaylen Clark and Bones Hyland.
Obviously no one can fill the big shoes of Edwards alone. The team’s chemistry will truly be tested now. If it wasn’t for his Herculean effort against Cleveland yesterday, Minnesota would have likely been throttled in regulation. LaMelo Ball and Jaden McDaniels will have to step up as leaders on the court.
As far as Ant’s recovery timeline, it’s always hard to tell with these things. History will tell you that he’ll beat the projected return date. Two months from now would be end of December and just about 30 games away. That would immediately put Edwards out of contention for regular season awards, thus a true supermax extension option would be off the table. Will this matter later?
I’ll take the blame for this one though, ya’ll. I had to ask the stupid question of what Wolves fans biggest fears was and of course, it came to fruition. My bad.
