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The Minnesota Timberwolves are up 3-1, and it's thanks to Anthony Edwards. However, the All-Star guard learned a valuable lesson from his training, Chris Hines before the playoffs began.
“My trainer [Chris] Hines always tells me, ‘Michael Jordan had Steve Kerr,'” Edwards told ESPN. “He always tells me stuff like that. So, it's just being able to trust my teammates.”
The clutch minutes have been indicative of how Edwards has trusted his teammates. However, it has also proved his dominance as well.
Edwards has 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting in his 14 postseason clutch minutes. Not to mention, he has five assists and no turnovers. That is the most assists without a turnover in clutch time by any player in the 2025 playoffs.
His trainer elaborated more on what he told the Minnesota star, heading into the season.
“Jordan had Steve Kerr,” Hines said. “He had [John] Paxson. LeBron [James] had Boobie Gibson at times. Guys who would really make these shots, timely shots.
“The [Robert] Horrys' and whatnot, throughout the history of the game. And if he doesn't study that type of stuff, then he's going to keep bumping his head against a brick wall.”
Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards sees role as an excellent teammate
Although Edwards has been excellent as an individual player, the next step was being an elite teammate. He has the competitive drive, spirit, and willingness to bring his teammates along.
Even though Edwards joined an exclusive LeBron and Kobe club in the playoffs, winning is what he cares about it. And he can't do that without his teammates.
Hines touched more on how the Timberwolves guard has seen star players embracing those around him.
“So it's been a good transition for him to see it. We'll watch clips of Kobe when he hits Rick Fox [with a pass]. Ant's like, ‘Who's Rick Fox?' He had no clue who Rick Fox is. But he sees he hit the shot. So he's getting a really good understanding of the history of the game and how it's repeating itself [with him].”
“My first couple of times in the playoffs down the stretch, I always just wanted to win the game myself,” Edwards said. “Because growing up, when you watch the games, you always think like, ‘Oh, they always hit the big shots!' But sometimes they make the extra pass, the right play.”
At the end of the day, Minnesota has a chance to reach the Western Conference Finals again. Not to mention, head coach Chris Finch's lesson during the playoffs might've been an awakening.
Not leaning on scoring and impacting the game in other ways has allowed his teammates to embrace their role and capitalize on Edwards's trust.
