Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has been cleared to progress into the next stage of on-court work as he looks to return from his right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome injury.
Edwards has missed five straight games with this right knee soreness, which the Timberwolves have downplayed multiple times and made clear that their star is being sidelined more out of an abundance of caution than anything else.
As a result of this latest update, Edwards will begin ramping up his practice activities and on-court work with the hope of returning sooner rather than later for the Wolves.
No clear timeline or return date was provided by Minnesota on Friday afternoon in conjunction with Edwards' injury update, despite it sounding like the All-Star guard is day-to-day.
However, Edwards has already been ruled out for Saturday afternoon's game against the Detroit Pistons, meaning he will miss his sixth straight game with this right knee injury.
One of the big reasons Edwards himself may want to get back on the court sooner than later is due to the league's 65-game minimum rule for end-of-season awards and accolades.
Since he will miss his sixth straight game on Saturday, Edwards will need to play in seven of the team's final eight games of the regular season to reach the 65-game minimum threshold and remain eligible for the voting in MVP, All-NBA, and other honors.
The NBA's 65-game rule has been a key talking point as the 2025-26 regular season winds down, especially in regards to Pistons star point guard Cade Cunningham possibly missing this mark after recently suffering a collapsed lung.
Amid comments from both the NBPA and Cunningham's agent about the rule needing to be adjusted for serious injuries like his, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday at the league's Board of Governors meeting in New York that he believes the rule is “working” as intended and doesn't see a need to change it anytime soon.
In terms of Edwards' status, he will need to return by Thursday, April 2, against the Pistons at the latest and play in all of the team's remaining games to qualify for end-of-season awards.
Edwards has played in 58 games this season, averaging 29.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 40.2 percent from 3-point range. Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant and Edwards are the only players in the NBA currently averaging at least 26 points while shooting 45 percent or better from the floor and at least 40 percent from 3-point range.
The Timberwolves star currently ranks third in scoring this season behind only Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
