Edwards owns his shot selection and delivered when it mattered
Anthony Edwards returned from injury and immediately took over the final minute against Oklahoma City, hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 38 seconds left to give Minnesota the lead. The Timberwolves were down two points, coach Chris Finch had been in the locker room since the first quarter, and Edwards decided the game himself. After Julius Randle missed a free throw and Rudy Gobert tipped the rebound to the guards, Edwards knew exactly what he was doing.
"I wasn't going to pass. I knew I was going to shoot," Edwards explained about the one-on-one possession where he dribbled multiple times before hitting a stepback three. "As soon as the ball left my hand, I knew it was going in. He defended it well. It was a difficult shot. But I probably take that shot a thousand times a week when I'm in the gym, so it was a natural shot for me." The defender was Cason Wallace, one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders. Edwards didn't care. He rose up and buried it.
The Gilbert Arenas mentality separates closers from good players
Edwards addressed the criticism he receives for always playing for the win rather than settling for a tie. "I get criticized a lot because I never play for the tie," he said. "I heard Gilbert Arenas say not long ago: 'I'm trying to go home.' Me too. So I always play to win the game." That's the mentality elite closers have. Edwards could've driven for a safer mid-range shot to tie the game. He could've hunted free throws. Instead, he took the hardest shot available—a contested stepback three over elite defense—because he wanted to win immediately.
That's what separates stars from superstars. Good players take the safe option. Great players trust themselves to make the difficult play that ends the game on their terms. Edwards is 23 years old and already operating with that level of confidence and self-belief. Donte DiVincenzo, who gave him the ball after Gobert's deflection, summed it up perfectly: "In the end, we put the ball in his hands and ask him to bring us home. And that's what he did."
The next 30 seconds were a defensive masterclass
Edwards didn't stop after hitting the game-winner. On Oklahoma City's next possession, he blocked reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's attempt near the rim. Then he grabbed the defensive rebound after another Thunder miss, allowing Randle to go to the free throw line and extend the lead to three points. That's two crucial defensive plays immediately after the biggest offensive moment of the game. Most players relax after hitting a clutch shot. Edwards locked in harder.
Then came the final possession. SGA brought the ball up the court looking to tie it with a three-pointer. Edwards spotted defensive specialist Jaden McDaniels in the passing lane on the left, cut off SGA's path to the right, and ripped the ball away as it passed in front of his face. "I knew he was looking to shoot a three," Edwards explained. "I just tried to be solid." That steal sealed the game. In 30 seconds, Edwards hit a game-winning three, blocked the MVP, grabbed a rebound, and forced a turnover. That's not just clutch—that's complete domination on both ends when the game's on the line.
The Thunder are the league's best team and Edwards beat them anyway
Oklahoma City came into this game as the NBA's best team by record and one of the favorites to win the championship. They were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, which gave Minnesota an advantage, but that doesn't diminish what Edwards did. When you hit a stepback three over elite defense to beat the top team in the league, you've earned your credibility as a closer. The criticism about his shot selection exists because he takes difficult shots. But when they go in at this rate in crucial moments, the criticism looks foolish.
Edwards stays humble despite the win, acknowledging the Thunder played the night before and noting this is just one regular season victory. "The Thunder are by far the best team in the league, and they played yesterday," he said after the game. That's perspective from a 23-year-old who understands one win doesn't define a season. Minnesota is 17-10, which is solid but inconsistent. They're capable of beating the best team in the league and losing to a bottom-feeder the next night. Edwards knows that.
Minnesota's inconsistency remains the real problem
The Timberwolves are talented enough to compete with anyone when Edwards and their defense are clicking. But they're also maddeningly inconsistent, capable of no-showing against inferior opponents. Edwards acknowledged this after the game, refusing to celebrate too much because he knows Minnesota can lose to a struggling team next. That inconsistency is what separates them from true contenders. You can't beat Oklahoma City one night and then lose to a lottery team the next if you want to be taken seriously in the playoffs.
Chris Finch being in the locker room since the first quarter is also concerning. Whether it was health-related or strategic, having your head coach absent for most of a crucial game against the league's best team isn't ideal. The fact Minnesota still won speaks to Edwards's leadership and the team's talent, but it also raises questions about what happened with Finch and whether it's something that could impact the team going forward.
Edwards proved his critics wrong in 30 seconds
The criticism of Anthony Edwards's shot selection exists because he takes hard shots. He doesn't settle for easy looks or safe plays in crunch time. He hunts the most difficult option because he believes he can make it. Against Oklahoma City, he proved that belief is justified. The stepback three over Cason Wallace was perfectly executed. The defensive sequence that followed—block, rebound, steal—was textbook two-way dominance. In 30 seconds, Edwards showed why he's one of the league's elite closers despite being just 23.
Gilbert Arenas's mentality of "trying to go home" is exactly right. You don't play for overtime when you can win it now. You don't settle for a tie when you can take the lead. Edwards embodies that philosophy, and even when the shots don't fall, the mentality is correct. Great closers aren't afraid to miss. They're confident enough to keep taking big shots because they know eventually they'll make them. Edwards made his against the best team in the NBA, then sealed it with defense. That's the complete package Minnesota needs if they want to compete for a championship.