Anthony Edwards is undisputedly one of the best players in the association, and some even believe that he's the best player in the NBA bar none. Now, it's hard to crown Edwards as such considering how talented his peers are, but the fact that he's rubbing elbows with the elite is nothing short of a huge win for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On Friday night, with Edwards suiting up for the Timberwolves for the first time since the All-Star break, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game MVP picked up where he left off. He scored 40 points for Minnesota to power them to a 122-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks, and in so doing, he notched his eighth 40-point game of the 2025-26 campaign.
This puts him in rarefied air; this season, only two players have scored 40 points in a single game at least eight times, with Edwards joining Luka Doncic in that exclusive club, as pointed out by the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).
Edwards, on the season, is now averaging 29.5 points per contest, which puts him at third in the association behind only Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. There's a reason why the Timberwolves loom as a dark-horse contender in the Western Conference, and Edwards plays a big factor in that.
Timberwolves do not let off the gas pedal vs. Mavericks
It was thanks to a stellar first quarter that the Timberwolves managed to create a comfortable cushion between them and the Mavericks. They were already up by 15 at the end of the period, and Edwards only scored three during that span. Edwards turned it up in the second frame, scoring 17 points in 10 minutes, and Minnesota kept Dallas at bay for most of the game.
Edwards had his way against an overmatched Mavs team that was without Cooper Flagg on Friday night due to a foot injury.
