Anthony Edwards had the best scoring season of his career last year. It might also have been the most expensive.
He averaged 28.8 points, dropped 55 on the Spurs and took home All-Star Game MVP. He also played just 61 games, four short of the league’s 65-game minimum for postseason awards. That kept him off All-NBA and put his super-max eligibility next summer on the line.
The path back is simple to say, but hard to do. Play 65 games, then add an All-NBA selection, an MVP or a Defensive Player of the Year award.
Minnesota thinks he’ll get there. The Wolves traded for LaMelo Ball, moved Edwards back to his natural shooting guard spot and are paying the luxury tax for a third straight season.
For the hobby, a season with this much riding on it can go either way. A healthy, motivated Ant sends prices running. Another trip to the trainer’s room might send them the other way.
We want to know how the hobby is pricing Edwards right now. Is the bounce-back year already baked in? Is the market still holding last season’s injuries against him? And with Opening Night four days out, is this the last quiet window before the games start counting?
Let’s rip in.
Ant-Man
SG / Minnesota Timberwolves / Draft Info: Round 1, Pick 1 (2020)
Before basketball, there was football. Edwards grew up in Atlanta as a youth running back and didn’t switch to basketball full time until his early teens. You can still see the running back in him. He plays downhill, he’s strong through contact and he’d rather go through a defender than around him.
He became a five-star recruit at Holy Spirit Prep and spent one season at Georgia, where he was named the SEC’s top freshman but never got to play in an NCAA Tournament. Minnesota took him first overall in a 2020 draft that the pandemic pushed to November. He finished second to LaMelo Ball for Rookie of the Year. Then he climbed fast.
The scoring is what sells. He’s explosive getting to the rim, and the jumper keeps getting better. He also wants the ball when it matters. He led a massive Game 7 comeback to knock out defending champion Denver in 2024, won Olympic gold that summer and took the Wolves to back-to-back West finals. He’s an All-Star every year now.
The knocks are fair, too. He’s a scorer, not a point guard, and last season’s experiment at the one proved it. The defense can run hot and cold depending on the night. And the maturity still comes and goes. His handshakes with the Spurs bench while Game 6 was still going drew plenty of criticism.
Then there’s the body. He used to be a guy you could pencil in every night. Last season, an early hamstring injury and knee trouble late cost him more games than ever. He still had the best scoring year of his career, won All-Star Game MVP and got Minnesota past Denver playing through the knee before the Spurs knocked them out in six.
This summer, Minnesota rebuilt around him. Naz Reid and Julius Randle went out in a four-team deal for LaMelo Ball, the same guy who beat him for Rookie of the Year. The trade also moves Edwards back to shooting guard, after Chris Finch blamed himself for making him the point guard last season. Edwards spent about two months away from basketball to let the knee heal.
Bottom line: Edwards is a 25-year-old shooting guard, signed through 2028-29, who can get a bucket at all three levels and has a big, quotable personality to match.
Do The Timberwolves Help or Hurt?
Collectors know the hobby punishes great players in bad situations. Context matters. When we size up the ecosystem around a star, we’re looking at three things:
Coaching stability: Is there a system to grow in, or constant turnover?
Front office / ownership: Are they building a winner, or making questionable moves?
Roster outlook: Is the supporting cast real, or still finding itself?
