Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Monday for making an obscene gesture in the direction of a referee, according to insider Chris Haynes.

The incident occurred during the Timberwolves' 127-125 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

Edwards has been given fines for similar issues throughout the start of the 2024-25 season, as he previously received a $35,000 fine for making an obscene gesture to the crowd in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 15.

The 23-year-old hasn't been shy regarding his thoughts on some referees in the past, as he was fined $75,000 for "public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language" on Dec. 23.

Edwards also received separate fines of $100,000 and $25,000 for using profane language in interviews after games this season.

Inconsistency has defined the start of the Timberwolves' 2024-25 season, as they sit at No. 8 in the Western Conference standings with a 20-18 record. It's a disappointing early result after they won 56 games and made an appearance in the conference finals last year.

Edwards' scoring averaged has dipped slightly compared to his 2023-24 campaign, but he's remained effective by becoming a larger threat from behind the arc. In 38 starts, he's averaging 25.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and a career-high 42.1 percent from three-point territory.

Edwards has already picked up nine technical fouls, the most in the association. Meanwhile, he is averaging 4.3 free-throw attempts per game, his lowest mark since the 2021-22 season.

His shot selection may also be contributing to his relatively low free-throw shooting, though. Edwards' average shot distance of 16.9 feet away from the basket is the longest of his career, as he's attempting 9.9 threes per game (via Basketball Reference).

53 POINTS. (career high)
10 THREES.

Anthony Edwards left it all on the floor in Detroit 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bx5uADak31

— NBA (@NBA) January 5, 2025

His latest act of frustration once again cost him some money.

Frustration is mounting for Anthony Edwards amid a mediocre start to the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Speaking to reporters after Thursday's 118-115 loss to the Boston Celtics, Edwards called it "super hard" to stay engaged when he's being forced to pass the ball due to all of the double teams he's seeing even though it's the right play to make.

Pretty much the entirety of Anthony Edwards's postgame media was him talking about his frustration with the way teams are putting two on him, taking away his opportunities to be a scorer and forcing him to get off the ball.

"It's not how I want to play, of course. I'm only 23, I… pic.twitter.com/7bJdFS6zeU

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 3, 2025

Trading away Karl-Anthony Towns late in the offseason has caused Minnesota's offense to slip this season. They weren't great in 2023-24, ranking 16th in rating and 18th in points per game, but that was good enough since they had the No. 1 defense in rating and points allowed.

Through the first 34 games this season, though, the Wolves rank just 20th in rating and 22nd in points per game. Their defense has also taken a step back to seventh in rating, putting more pressure on the offense to score points.

When Minnesota made the Towns trade with the New York Knicks, the hope was that Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle would be able to make up for his offense. Randle has been fine with 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

DiVincenzo has been a huge disappointment with a 35.9 percent success rate from three-point range, compared to 40.0 percent on 7.1 attempts in the previous two seasons.

Another big problem is Mike Conley Jr. is finally starting to show his age. The 37-year-old is shooting a career-low 35.5 percent from the field and is averaging his fewest assists per game (4.4) since the 2019-20 season.

Opposing defenses have figured out they can zero in on Edwards without having to pay too much attention to the Timberwolves' other shooters. He started the season on a torrid pace, averaging 28.0 points on 42.6 percent three-point shooting with 11.2 three-point attempts per game in his first 17 starts.

Since Nov. 27, Edwards has regressed to 20.7 points per game with a 38.5 percent three-point success rate on 8.1 attempts per game in 16 starts. He has six games with fewer than 20 points during this stretch after scoring at least 21 points in each of his first 17 starts.

Edwards had 15 games with at least 20 field-goal attempts in his first 19 starts, but he has hit that total just six times in the last 14 games.

Given the limited scoring options the Timberwolves currently have, head coach Tom Thibodeau and his staff need to find ways to open up the floor for Edwards. The biggest thing that can change to help Edwards and improve the offense is getting DiVincenzo going because it would force other teams to respect another shooter on the floor.

After reaching the conference finals last season, the Timberwolves are currently eighth in the West with a 17-16 record. They haven't been more than three games over .500 at any point this season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had an opportunity to earn a statement win on Thursday night but the Boston Celtics had other plans.

Boston rode an explosive second quarter to claim a 118-110 victory over the Timberwolves.

JT led the charge in the @celtics' first win of the New Year ☘️ pic.twitter.com/avM2cbMGU3

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 3, 2025

#CelticsWin pic.twitter.com/RXUBFt6TuE

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 3, 2025

Minnesota took a 35-28 lead in the opening quarter but a 34-16 charge from Boston in the second half gave the Celtics a 62-51 halftime lead. The Timberwolves bounced back with a 34-29 advantage in the third quarter but Boston was able to hold on and improve to 25-9 on the season.

Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 33 points while adding nine assists and eight rebounds. Derrick White was next for the Celtics with 26 points while Sam Hauser had 15 and Jrue Holliday had 11.

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Jaden McDaniels had 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists and Naz Reid had 20 points off of the bench.

Star guard Anthony Edwards had a tough night, scoring 15 points with six assists and four rebounds but shooting just 5-of-16 on field goals and 2-of-8 from three-point range. This included a buzzer-beater attempt to tie the game in the final seconds. He was also minus-10 on the court in the close game.

Fans took to social media to express disappointment in Edwards' game and declared that he isn't on the level of a player like Tatum.

To much 3s ant should be averaging 30 he need to stop the curry gimmick

— 💫 (@NewMediaSports_) January 3, 2025

Ant out here missing uncontested lay ups in a 8 point game on the last 2 mins just tells you all you need to know about the status of the NBA currently. The league stock is going down more and more day by day…🫠

— STR8LOCKZ (@STR8LOCKZ) January 3, 2025

Who do I sacrifice for Ant to be good again cuz I can’t do this anymore.

— Amran (@amran2828) January 3, 2025

Ant ain’t even in the same stratosphere as Tatum. Still love him but he isn’t even close lol.

— Title Defense Tour 💀🍀 (@CelticsForevr) January 3, 2025

Tried to tell y’all last May it was too soon for Ant…nobody listened now he’s got unreasonable expectations this season. Here comes his “criticism” era.

— Curt (@CelticsCurt) January 3, 2025

They were putting Ant in SGA/Tatum convos and both of them outscored him by double the amount in back to back games LMAO

— John The Don 🛩 (@_JoJoPicasso) January 3, 2025

Like I said the other day…Ant is a star and people were tryna force him into superstar conversations lol he ain’t that

— wavy man (@KAIDOLLASIGHN) January 3, 2025

Ant’s game looks disgusting now. Just a bunch of pointless crossovers and long 3 pt shots. The aggression is gone #nba

— Hitch 🧙🏽🧙🏽 (@___unclephil) January 3, 2025

https://twitter.com/trueblackstyle/status/1875010212786221317

Ant Man hit that “wall”. Need him to snap out of it before the playoffs.

— K Dot G (@Kd0tG) January 3, 2025

Can you believe people actually thought Ant was better than Tatum in 2024 😭😭😭

— Juu✝️🇬🇭 (@FirstClassJuu_) January 3, 2025

Ant getting owned by Shai, Tatum and now D white in a span of 3 days.
Bro doesn’t walk the talk anymore.
: Tatum the humblest superstar in the league atm. 🏀

— Dhanesh Veerasekar (@DhaneshVeerase1) January 3, 2025

Ant talks too much to have the stats he got tonight #BOSvsMIN

— Mark M. (@ShamSquad11) January 3, 2025

People really said ant is better than Tatum 🤣🤣🤣 #proudfather

— Steven Brown (@StevenBrown2241) January 3, 2025

Minnesota falls to 17-15 on the season with the loss and sit in eighth in the Western Conference. This is disappointing after a Conference Finals berth in 2023-24 and a blockbuster trade in the offseason that saw the team bring in Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Still, the Timberwolves have some time to turn it around and push forward in the West. The next opportunity to earn a key win will be on Saturday when Minnesota faces the Detroit Pistons.

The NBA fined Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards $100,000 for using profane language during a postgame television interview, the league announced in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, "the fine amount is based in part on Edwards' history of using profane language during media interviews."

His comments came after the Timberwolves' 113-112 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/DY8UecUjVz

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 29, 2024

Edwards' expressive language followed his go-ahead three-pointer that ultimately served as the game-winner for Minnesota on Friday.

"The play was for (Julius Randle) to go 14—big-small pick and roll," he said. "Once he picked it up, who else? I gotta go get it. S--t. Nickeil (Alexander-Walker) found me, he cut me off. I'm like, 's--t, I'm goin' for the win'. Like Gilbert Arenas said, I don't do overtime, so f--k it."

Edwards has now been fined two times within a week. His first fine came on Dec. 23 and was also for comments he made after a game.

Following the Wolves' loss to the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 21, Edwards criticized officials in his postgame media availability.

Anthony Edwards talked about the officiating for the entirety of his postgame media. Here's a piece of what he said. pic.twitter.com/Nehp43N3ex

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 22, 2024

His comments about the officials earned him a $75,0000 fine "for public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language," the league announced on Dec. 23.

Edwards, who had a career season a year ago, is putting up 25.3 points, 5.5 boards and four assists per game amid a mediocre 16-14 start for Minnesota.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is relishing the opportunity to play on Christmas Day.

Speaking to Andscape's Marc J. Spears about Wednesday's game, Edwards explained he's going to be "super, super happy" to play the Dallas Mavericks under the national spotlight.

"I'm going to be super, super happy," Edwards said. "It's Christmas, man. I don't even know how to explain it. I've never played on Christmas, so I can't wait to see what the feeling is. I know it's going to be fun."

One reason Edwards is so enthusiastic about being able to play on this stage is because he and his family used to watch Kevin Durant, who he idolized growing up, take part in so many Christmas Day games.

"You don't have to have cable to have ABC at the crib. So, s--t, KD [Kevin Durant] would play on Christmas," Edwards told Spears. "Me, my mama, my grandma, my brother, we'd all be sitting right there watching him. It was just special for us."

This is just the third time in Timberwolves history they have been featured in a Christmas Day game. They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017.

The Timberwolves-Mavs meeting is a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Finals that Dallas won in five games.

Even though the series ended in disappointment for Minnesota, it was still a wildly successful season with the team reaching the conference finals for just the second time in franchise history.

Edwards and the T-Wolves will be hoping they can use this game as a springboard for better things for the rest of this season. They have lost three straight and have fallen to 10th in the West with a 14-14 overall record.

Dallas has won 14 of its last 17 games after a 5-7 start to the season. Minnesota won three of four head-to-head meetings between these two teams in the 2023-24 regular season.

The Timberwolves-Mavericks game will tipoff from American Airlines Center at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined $75,000 by the NBA for "public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language."

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $75,000 for public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language. pic.twitter.com/C9Y89GU67t

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 23, 2024

The two-time All-Star's comments occurred after a 113-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

"The s--t was terrible," Edwards said. "They don't want to talk back to my coach, they don't want to talk back to me. I said one thing to the ref, and he gave me a tech. Motherf--ker told one of my teammates if I would have said 'y'all calling a bad foul' he would have given me a tech."

Anthony Edwards talked about the officiating for the entirety of his postgame media. Here's a piece of what he said. pic.twitter.com/Nehp43N3ex

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 22, 2024

The Timberwolves have lost two straight games, sitting at 14-13 this season.

Inconsistency has defined the start of the 2024-25 season for Minnesota, as the team has been unable to capitalize on momentum following a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

Trade acquisitions such as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have struggled to adjust to the change of scenery, and the Timberwolves have dropped from the best net rating in the association last season to the No. 5 mark to open the year (via NBA.com).

Edwards has remained efficient to start his fifth year in the league, averaging 25.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 44.8/42.1/80.5 shooting splits.

ANT MAN POSTER ON THE KINGS 😤 pic.twitter.com/MTksG4sPRL

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 16, 2024

It's worth noting that he's averaging just 4.2 free-throw attempts per game this season after recording 6.4 shots from the charity stripe each night last year.

Edwards is also avoiding the paint compared to past years, though. He's taking a career-low 14.7 percent of his shots within three feet of the basket after attempting 27.6 percent of his total shots in that range throughout his first four years in the association (via Basketball Reference).

He acknowledged that he hasn't been able to get to the rim as frequently, which may be affecting his ability to draw fouls.

"If you watch the game, there's nothing for me to do if I get downhill," Edwards said after a 133-107 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday. "Everybody want me to get downhill. I know that's my strength. I get to the rim, lay the ball up, dunk the ball, but I can't do that if there's no lane, it's not open. Every team we play did a great job of sitting in the gaps. When I get to the rim, putting four people at the rim."

"So, I mean there's nothing I can do about going to the hole right now," he added.

Asked Anthony Edwards about the offense and if he has answers for fixing it. pic.twitter.com/CUJlW8Vgvp

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 20, 2024

Edwards has been fined for criticizing officiating in the past, as he was penalized $40,000 during the 2023-24 season.

The Timberwolves will attempt to put an end to their brief losing streak against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards offered another blunt assessment of the team after Thursday's 133-107 loss to the New York Knicks.

Edwards told reporters in the locker room after the game the Wolves "don't have s--t on offense" or a discernible offensive identity.

"We know I'm gonna shoot a bunch of shots, we know [Julius Randle] gonna shoot a bunch of shots, and that's all we know," he said.

The two-time All-Star said the issue was down to on-court execution rather than the coaching from Chris Finch.

The offense wasn't totally the problem on Thursday. Minnesota shot 46.1 percent from the field and knocked down 17 of its 42 three-pointers. Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Josh Minott came off the bench to score 38 combined points.

But things clearly aren't clicking in the bigger picture.

The Timberwolves are 21st in offensive rating (110.8), per NBA.com. Edwards' scoring average (25.9 points) matches his 2023-24 output, but that may not necessarily be a good thing when he's attempting more threes than ever (10.1 per game) and should seemingly have a bigger offensive load with Karl-Anthony Towns gone.

"Every team we play did a great job of sitting in the gaps," he said Thursday night. "When I get to the rim, putting four people at the rim. I'm sorry, people, there's nothing I can do with going to the hole right now."

That was a foreseeable downside to trading Towns for Randle. Towns is a historically great shooter for a big man, while Randle is far more comfortable operating within the three-point arc.

A frontcourt with Randle and Rudy Gobert would inevitably have spacing issues, and Edwards seems to be experiencing the brunt of that.

"We're not an offensive team," he said, per the Pioneer Press' Jace Frederick. "We're a defensive team. I don't think there's going to be too much change. I think we just got to play defense better."

That's going to be hard when Minnesota is already fourth in defensive rating (107.7), per NBA.com.

If Edwards is right and there isn't much offensive improvement to come, the Wolves are in serious trouble.

Two months after being traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a surprise move, Karl-Anthony Towns has nothing but love for the organization and fans that he spent the first nine years of his career playing for.

Speaking to reporters after the New York Knicks' 133-107 win over the Timberwolves in his first visit to Minnesota since the trade, Towns noted he's still an "avid" fan of his former team.

"I'm an avid Timberwolves fan, so I watch a lot of the games when I get a chance," Towns said. "They're still my brothers. They're still my guys. Just because a trade happened, doesn't mean I lost love for them. The brotherhood is always going to be there."

The Timberwolves honored Towns before tipoff with a tribute video leading to a standing ovation from the Target Center crowd.

Towns was a four-time All-Star and won the 2015-16 NBA Rookie of the Year award during his time with the T-Wolves. He helped the franchise make four playoff appearances, including a trip to the Western Conference finals last season.

In his first game at Target Center as an opponent, Towns reminded the Timberwolves what they gave up. He scored 32 points on 10-of-12 shooting with 20 rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes.

Towns had five games with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in his nine seasons with the Timberwolves. Thursday's game was his first time hitting those marks since March 23, 2019.

The Timberwolves have struggled to find their footing so far this season without Towns. They are eighth in the Western Conference with a 14-12 record.

Towns' new team has been more than happy to reap the rewards of his talent. The Knicks have won 12 of their last 16 games and are now in third in the Eastern Conference with a 17-10 record.

Karl-Anthony Towns' return to Minnesota was a successful one, as he led the New York Knicks to a 133-107 win over the Timberwolves at the Target Center on Thursday night.

Anthony Edwards expressed conflicted emotions because he was "mad" the Timberwolves got beat before acknowledging Towns got a "dream" moment to shine against his former team.

"Get traded, come back and beat your team by 30—I mean, that's everything you dream of," Edwards said. "I'm mad we lost, but on the inside, I'm super happy for him. That's my dog."

The Timberwolves surprised many people by trading Towns to the Knicks in a three-team deal a few weeks before the start of the regular season. They were coming off one of the best seasons in franchise history with 56 regular-season wins and an appearance in the Western Conference finals.

Towns reminded Minnesota's front office what they gave up by posting 32 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 20 rebounds, six assists and two steals in 38 minutes. It was his second game this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

Losing Towns has had a profound impact on the Timberwolves. They still have one of the best defenses in the NBA this season—fifth in defensive rating—but they rank in the bottom 10 in scoring offense and offensive rating.

The players Minnesota got in return didn't have horrible nights. Julius Randle led the team with 24 points in 30 minutes. Donte DiVincenzo's 15 points off the bench tied his second-best scoring game of the season.

Edwards didn't have a banner night with just 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. It was his first game with fewer than 20 points since Dec. 4.

Towns and the Knicks appear to have hit their stride after a slow start to the season. They have won 12 of their last 16 games, jumping up to third place in the Eastern Conference with a 17-10 overall record.

There's a new colorway for the Anthony Edwards 1's, and it is arriving in time for the holiday season.

Adidas announced Wednesday the Anthony Edwards 1 Low "Nick's Gift" colorway that honors Edwards' "ultimate Day One, Nick Maddox," will be available on Saturday:

Dedicated to Ant’s ultimate Day 1, Nick Maddox.

The Nick’s Gift Anthony Edwards 1 is available on 12/14. pic.twitter.com/ESk8ZbwJeb

— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) December 9, 2024

Slick’s favorite color on his favorite shoe.

The Nicks Gift Anthony Edward’s 1 is available on 12/14. pic.twitter.com/CA2ODKZBN7

— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) December 11, 2024

The new colorway features Maddox's favorite color and, according to Adidas' announcement, "a futuristic design with meticulous precision along with innovative features crafted to Ant's specifications."

Those specifications include generative support wing for more stability, jet boost for more energy return and cushion, and herringbone outsoles for better traction on the basketball court.

The "Nick's Gift" colorway will be available for $110.

Meanwhile, Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves are 4-1 in the last five games as they look to put an inconsistent start to the season in the rearview mirror. They are 12-11 on the campaign and sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference as they continue to adjust to trading away Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason.

Edwards has remained a bright spot and is averaging 26.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Minnesota will need him to continue playing at a high level during an upcoming stretch of seven Western Conference opponents in the next nine games, including a Christmas Day showdown against the Dallas Mavericks.