If we’re being frank, Anthony Edwards has already shown what it means to be a leader. By pushing and leading his Minnesota Timberwolves to a Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in their second-round series, despite suffering a serious knee injury just nine days prior, Edwards is setting the best possible example as a basketball player. He deserves so much credit for that resolve.
Still, even with his heroics in the account, the Timberwolves star did something remarkable right after Minnesota’s opening win. Rather than make excuses related to his injury or talk himself up or his team, Edwards listed off all of his clutch-time mistakes that almost allowed the Spurs to steal victory out of the jaws of defeat. In other words, rather than resting on his laurels or projecting satisfaction from an 18-point performance in 25 minutes, Edwards took accountability in a way we see so few pro athletes truly do.
The interview below is an example of what makes the All-NBA-caliber guard just so darn special:
Anthony Edwards was disappointed with himself down the stretch despite the HUGE win vs the Wolves. pic.twitter.com/zsqnRCEp48
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 5, 2026
How many stars of Edwards’ ability would start rattling off their mistakes instead of their successes after a huge road playoff win? I’ll give you a hint: The list isn’t long.
Edwards has the right mindset here. He understands that if he’s going to play while hampered, he has to play better if Minnesota is to topple the Spurs and reach its third straight Western Conference Finals. We, as observers, might marvel at his heroics for playing through injury, but no one on the court is giving him brownie points or taking it easy on him just because he isn’t 100 percent healthy. If you’re available, simply play better. Full stop.
The Timberwolves simply need Edwards (who wasn’t even all that bad in Game 1) to be better to beat a 62-win regular season, and he knows it. That’s the thing. No matter his health status, when Edwards starts taking responsibility like this while vowing he’ll perform better moving forward, I believe him.
He doesn’t seem like the kind of superstar to break a promise to himself or his Timberwolves teammates.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Anthony Edwards was disappointed with heroic Game 1 Timberwolves effort