OKLAHOMA CITY — Anthony Edwards was fined another $50,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for using a curse word as an adjective during his postgame press conference following Minnesota’s Game 1 loss to the Thunder.
Edwards said he had to take more than 13 (bleeping) shots, which was his shot volume in Tuesday’s loss.
In goes another contribution to the swear jar.
The fine brought Edwards’ season long tally to $420K giving to the league for his transgressions. He has earned much of that. The NBA can’t countenance players delivering profanity-laced postgame comments or telling fans in the stands about the size of his genitals.
But, to some degree, it does feel like there are times where Edwards’ reputation precedes him. Because the 23-year-old guard has made efforts over the past few months to curtail his cursing when speaking to the media. And his slip Tuesday felt like just that, a slip.
Frankly, curse words are part of Edwards’ everyday vernacular. Eliminating his use of them in certain settings is part of a maturation process that is very much still in the infant stages. He certainly needs to improve in a number of off-the-court areas.
Everyone understands that repeat offenders are often shown little in the way of grace.
But slapping the guard’s wrist every time he commits a minor infraction seems counterproductive. Edwards is one of few players who fans are nearly as excited to hear talk as they are to see play. His charisma is one of his major selling points. For the first few years of his career, his postgame interviews were must-see content.
The volume of those has waned a bit in recent seasons, as Edwards has slowly withdrawn from the media. He turns down the majority of post-practice or shootaround interviews, and even somewhat regularly declines to provide postgame comments. The latter includes a multi-week media hiatus the all-star took after he began being fined by the league for his language prior to the calendar flipping to 2025.
And certainly, at that point, the league had to teach Edwards a lesson. He couldn’t be swearing at the volume he was, particularly when doing on-court interviews. That doesn’t fall in line with the image any pro sports league wants to portray.
Edwards didn’t see it that way. He was initially frustrated. But his improvements should be acknowledged. Efforts were being made to clean up his comments while still showing himself to be the athlete to whom so many fans are drawn.
That’s the line to walk. The NBA shouldn’t want Edwards to delete or mute his personality. It’s a selling point for the Timberwolves and the Association at large. Fans adore the guy who walked around the LA area surrounding Crypto.Com Arena after the Wolves bounced the Lakers in Round 1 of these playoffs.
Ideally, that can still come across without the language not suited for young kids or certain clientele. But should the NBA continue to crack down to this degree, punishing every minor slip of the tongue, it does risk Edwards pulling away further?
The ability to express who you are should be encouraged, within reason. The NBA’s challenge is to walk that line of maintaining cordiality, while promoting charisma.
The fine levied Tuesday, even if it’s pocket change to Edwards, felt like a step in a direction that is slightly too conservative.
All-defense recognition
Rudy Gobert earned his first second-team all-defense honor of his career when the two teams were announced by the NBA on Thursday.
Gobert nabbed the 10th-and-final spot on the all-defense teams.
Gobert was a level below the player who won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year honor a season ago for much of the 2024-25 campaign, but he was still the anchor and most important piece on a Minnesota defense that finished sixth in defensive rating this season by allowing 110.8 points per 100 possessions. that number dipped to 107.6 when Gobert was on the floor.
This selection marks Gobert’s eighth all-defense selection. He was named to the first team every season from 2017-22, and was first team again last year. Gobert received three first-team votes and 59 second-team votes from the 100-voter panel. He edged New York forward OG Anunoby for the final second-team selection.
Absent from the two teams was Wolves’ perimeter stopper Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels earned his first all-defense selection a year ago, when he was named to the second team. But, like Gobert, he got off to a slow start to the season overall. While his admission may seem like a slight, cracking the list of the league’s top 10 defenders each season is a difficult task, particularly for perimeter players whose efforts aren’t as well represented by defensive metrics.
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