This past February, Vanity Fair's Tom Kludt wrote an exclusive on Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards, who over the past two years has matured from promising young star to face of the league waiting right before the eyes of millions of hoops fans. In that piece, Kludt interviewed Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez, who said that he believed Edwards was a “six-tool player because he has all the tools and all the intangibles.” That sixth tool? It's called the It Factor, and for the past sixth months, Edwards has been oozing it. Now, the NBA is taking notice.
With the release of the 2024-25 NBA schedule on Thursday afternoon, one of the things that fans love to look at is who is playing the most on national TV. After all, not everyone who considers the NBA their favorite sport forks over the money each year for NBA League Pass, so the national TV schedule is their ticket to seeing who they'll be watching on a nightly basis throughout the season. Each year, there are a handful of teams who benefit from a spike in national TV coverage, and this year, no franchise will receive as large of a boost as the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In total, the Timberwolves will play on national TV 25 times during the 2024-25 season, including an opening night trip to Hollywood to play the Los Angeles Lakers, a Christmas Day visit to Dallas to face the Mavericks, a Saturday matinee at home versus the Denver Nuggets in January, and a pair of nationally televised matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the month of February. And in each and every one of these matchups, the guy that everyone in the arena will have their eyes on is Anthony Edwards.
Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards has become must-see TV
For as popular and dominant as Edwards seemed to get during the 2023-24 season, the devil's advocate would be quick to advise that there are still areas where Ant's popularity and game need to grow. Edwards was only the 7th-most viewed player across all NBA social media platforms, and he didn't finish in the top 15 in jersey sales in the 2023-24 season. Edwards may soon be able to make a claim as the NBA's best player, but last season, he made 2nd Team All-NBA for the first time in his career, and he lost some steam during the Western Conference Finals when he was held to just 24 points per game on only 43 percent shooting.
But my God, why would we dwell on the negatives when instead we could bask in the electricity of an Anthony Edwards poster dunk?
Or an Anthony Edwards chase-down block?
Or Anthony Edwards crossing someone into oblivion?
All of that and more coming to an arena — or TV screen — near you!
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