A year ago, Anthony Edwards was asked to sum up what happened in Minnesota’s blowout Game 5 loss at the hands of Dallas to end the Timberwolves’ season in the Western Conference Finals.
“Luka,” Edwards said, referencing Luka Doncic by first name only. “It’s that simple. He hit like three shots from the logo, pretty much. Nothing we can do about it.”
Indeed, Doncic splashed a number of kill shots early that evening at Target Center that sapped the life from Minnesota and effectively ended the series on the spot. There is a powerless feeling that overcomes a team when an opposing player hits a series of difficult shots for which there is no defense.
It breaks your spirit.
Fast forward to the 2025 postseason, and the Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference Finals – the first team to repeat the achievement in consecutive seasons since 2019 – in large part because the soul crushee has become the crusher.
Minnesota won its first two playoff series each in five games, setting itself up well in terms of maximum rest and minimum wear and tear ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday in either Denver or Oklahoma City.
After Minnesota dispatched the Lakers in Game 5, the superstar guard strutted through the hallways of Crypto.com Arena shouting “Ant-Man, Batman, Superman, Wolves in five.”
Fitting. As Minnesota’s sailing has only been this smooth in these playoffs because, whenever Minnesota has found itself in danger, Edwards has put on his cape and come to the rescue with heroic 3-balls.
Which, yeah, is otherwise known as “hero ball.” But that word often carries a negative connotation. For Minnesota this postseason, perhaps “savior ball” is a better term.
Trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Lakers, Minnesota was staring down a 2-2 tie with the series heading back to Los Angeles for Game 5.
Edwards had other ideas.
On the first possession of the final frame, Edwards held the ball 28 feet away from the hoop with Doncic, of all people, directly in front of him. After a brief hold, the guard decided to rise and fire.
Splash.
Minnesota was now within seven, but only briefly. Austin Reaves answered with a triple of his own on the other end of the floor. No matter, Edwards came down on Minnesota’s ensuing possession, came off a high screen and again shot over the outstretched arm of Doncic.
Same result.
Minnesota was still down seven with fewer than eight minutes to play when Edwards sized up Reaves on the perimeter. He took a hard step at the Lakers guard before executing his go-to, step-back jumper. Reaves delivered a commendable contest.
It didn’t matter. The Wolves were within four, and Target Center was rocking. Minnesota went on to win the game to effectively end the series.
Fast forward to Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, which was tied 1-1, and a Steph Curry-less Golden State team was fighting tooth and nail to claim a contest to re-claim the series lead and buy time for Curry to get healthy.
Golden State led by six with 10 minutes to play, and Minnesota couldn’t buy a bucket for much of the night. This specific possession was going no better for the Wolves. Edwards came off the screen with the shot clock dwindling. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski switched onto Edwards and removed his air space to force Edwards to take a prayer with the shot clock set to expire.
He drained it.
That shot gave Minnesota life. Three minutes later, the Wolves were down one. Edwards caught the ball at the top of the floor with Gary Payton II guarding him closely. Yet Edwards didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately rising for the shot when he touched the ball.
Good again, this time giving Minnesota a lead it never relinquished.
Credit to the Warriors, they came back out in Game 4 and gave it another honest effort in the first half in an attempt to stay in the series. Again, Golden State out-played Minnesota for much of the first half, and had a five-point lead to show for it with seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Edwards dribbled down the floor, crossed over Payton and shot from roughly 30 feet over the arms of Payton and Draymond Green as the buzzer sounded.
You already know how this story ends.
The shot brought Minnesota within two at the half, and the Wolves ran the Warriors out of the building coming out of the break.
Edwards has always sensed the moments when his team has needed a boost. This year, he’s armed with a lethal 3-point shot capable of delivering whenever called upon.
“We’re lucky with him,” Wolves coach Chris Finch admitted.
Because there simply aren’t many players capable of hitting the shots Edwards takes. Per NBA.Com data, players across the league are shoot 25% on “closely” guarded 3-point attempts in these playoffs, where a defender is within two to four feet of the shot taker.
Edwards is 8 for 18 – 44.4% – on such attempts. The rest of the Wolves are 0 for 13. The 23-year-old is Minnesota’s only real option when it’s in a tight spot and needs points in bunches to create the mere chance for a comeback.
And Superman is hopping into the booth to answer the call every time the phone rings in these playoffs with zero hesitation.
“Just trusting the work, man. I trust myself. And I tell (my teammates): ‘It’s time. It’s time for that,’” Edwards said. “So, they already know. They know what it is. When I get in that mode, get me the ball. Try to get me open. I tell them all the time, ‘You set a good screen, we gonna score. I promise you.’”
Rudy Gobert was sitting next to Edwards at the press conference table when the topic was discussed, and he noted it’s a balance in his mind. He’s a believer in team basketball, with the right play being the pass to the open man. There have been times in the past where Edwards’ forced shot attempts have been a cause for frustration for Finch and fellow teammates.
But they’ve all appreciated how the young guard has been more deliberate about picking his spots of when to swing for the fences this season.
And when he’s squaring it up and tallying far more home runs than strikeouts, there is little about which to complain.
“He’s such a unique scorer and high confidence player,” Gobert said. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to let him do his thing. Sometimes, he’s going to make it, miss it, but you’ve got to let him do his thing.”
Especially in the playoffs, where defenses are all carrying out intensely-detailed gameplans with maximum effort. There will be many possessions where, try as you might, you aren’t going to generate anything resembling a good shot.
It’s a near requirement to have a cheat code player who’s always holding a get out of jail free card in his back pocket to win your team the games in which the chips seem to stacked heavily against you.
“Everybody needs one of those guys, or multiples of those guys,” Finch said. “This time of the year, sometimes it just comes down to that.”
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