On Dec. 30, Anthony Edwards tried to split a Jevon Carter–Brook Lopez double-team late in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. He brought the ball up, knocked Carter backward, and rose for a dunk. Lopez fouled him, and Edwards fell hard on the baseline underneath the basket. He immediately grabbed his backside, writhing in pain. Edwards was slapping the floor before the trainers came to tend to him. The cameras caught him wincing in pain.
Edwards’ injury came at a low point for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They suffered their fifth-straight loss in Milwaukee, then lost at home the next night to the tanking Detroit Pistons, entering the New Year with a 16-21 record. But Edwards was out there against Detroit, leading the Wolves with 30 points and five assists. “He was a game-time decision,” Chris Finch said after the game. “I thought he played with a lot of force, early on in particular. He’s a warrior; he loves to play.”
The Timberwolves won six of their first seven games in 2023 to return to .500. Edwards was the leading scorer in all but two. He’s taken control since Karl-Anthony Towns injured his calf on Nov. 28, asserting himself as the team’s best player. Furthermore, he could become a top-7 player in the league, one who can drive winning for a franchise that has experienced little of it. Edwards made his first All-Star Game this year and garnered national attention for his comments on load management.
“Just play, man. If you 80%, you gotta play,” said Edwards, one of 19 players who’s played in every game this year. “I don’t like all the sitting, missing games stuff. These people might have enough money to come to one game. And that might be the game they come to and you sitting out.”
Watching Edwards play is a visceral experience. He is built like a football player and throws his weight around while playing defense or driving to the hoop. He constantly engages with his teammates and talks trash to his opponents. Edwards also has a knack for the moment. He can sense tension building and blow the roof off the Target Center with an acrobatic dunk. He’s worth the price of admission alone, so it’s a positive thing that he wants to be available every night.
However, some players occasionally sit out so they can stay healthy for 82 games. The NBA started playing 80 games in 1961-62 and settled on 82 games when the league expanded to 12 teams in 1967-68. Each team played their conference rivals eight times and inter-conference opponents seven times. The NBA has expanded to 30 teams but kept the 82-game schedule.
It’s a grind for many players, especially veterans, and many prominent voices have advocated for a reduced 72- or 76-game schedule. However, owners are reluctant to give up gate revenue, and fewer games would make NBA records incongruent. Therefore, teams have opted to rest their players on back-to-backs or during difficult travel stretches. The upside is that players can stay healthy throughout the season and extend their careers. The downside is that fans show up to games or tune in and don’t get to see their favorite players.
Barring injury, young players like Edwards, 21, should play in as many games as possible. Edwards drives winning for the Wolves and brings fans to Target Center. However, veterans with many miles on their legs have to throttle back to stay healthy all year. Basketball has fewer impact injuries than football, but many players experience fatigue injuries. Knees wear down, ankles get sore. For Mike Conley, the 35-year-old guard Minnesota acquired from the Utah Jazz at the deadline, load management is part of the equation that keeps him on the court.
I was at home scratching my head, like, ‘Oh! I took a few games off here and there.’ But I’m 35, so we’ll wait until he gets to 35 and see. But I agree with a lot of what he said. When I was his age, even going to about 26, 27, we didn’t miss games unless we were hurt. It wasn’t an analytical thing. We just played until an ankle rolled, and you just couldn’t. Or you just played through it.
The Timberwolves encourage Edwards to speak his mind, with one notable exception. He’s charismatic enough to be a movie star and should eventually become the voice of the team. Edwards has always acted like he belonged since entering the league and has the moxie and athletic ability to turn fatigued Wolves fans into believers again. Finch is trying to build a culture where players value playing and backs Edwards’ comments in Utah.
We’re very proud of Ant in that he wants to play every night. He loves to play the game. Sometimes you’ll find that not everybody loves to play the game. You think they should or would. But he’s certainly not that way. We’re also very proud of him [for] sticking up for his beliefs and the way guys should want to go out and play every night and play through injury and whatnot. We would never put anyone in jeopardy [by] asking them to play when they’re not well. He loves to play and feels it’s his duty to play.
Hopefully, Edwards has a long and productive career; the Timberwolves’ future hinges on it. Perhaps he’ll feel differently about load management when he’s 35. But he’s right to want to play every game right now. Edwards is Minnesota’s star player, the guy who is most able to help them build on their 46-win season last year, assuming they build the team around him.
Minnesota’s schedule will challenge Edwards down the stretch. Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors kicked off a four-game road trip, and 13 of their 21 games coming out of the break are on the road. Furthermore, Edwards didn’t get as much rest as other players did because he went to Utah for the All-Star Game. He’s still young and spry, but the NBA season has a way of pushing even the fittest players to their limits. Give Edwards this, though: He’s backed up his word. Edwards looked like he sustained a serious injury in Milwaukee and dropped 30 on Detroit the next night.
