Five games into the 2024-2025 season, Anthony Edwards has hit the ground running and is having a career year from behind the arc. Having taken nearly 60 percent of his total field goal attempts from three-point range, some critics believe the Minnesota Timberwolves guard should go back to his roots in attacking the basket, but Edwards could not care less.
After a 119-116 win over the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 1, Edwards was asked for his thoughts on potential criticism of his shot selection. With a single nonchalant response, Edwards said “f*** 'em” to those who believe he should be shooting fewer three-pointers, via Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore.
For what it is worth, Edwards is currently averaging 29.8 points per game through the first five outings of his fifth professional season. He has increased his scoring averages every year he has been in the NBA, evidenced by a career-high 25.9 points per game in 2023-2024.
A large part of his recent scoring success has been his accuracy from deep. On 67 total three-point attempts in the year, Edwards is hitting his long-distance attempts at a 43.3 percent clip, which is significantly higher than his career-best 36.7 percent rate. He has yet to attempt fewer than 12 three-pointers in a game on the year.
Edwards' recent passion for deep shots was evident against the Nuggets as he sunk a season-high seven three-pointers on 14 attempts. His deep-range shooting led to a team-high 29 points in the game, a major component of the team's narrow win.
Timberwolves travel to San Antonio for second night of back-to-back
On the heels of their nationally televised win over the Nuggets, the Timberwolves had to immediately get on a plane to fly south to San Antonio. Minnesota will face the Spurs on Nov. 2 to complete their first back-to-back of the year.
The matchup with the Spurs ends a three-game home stand, as the Timberwolves have not played a road game since Oct. 24. Minnesota will look to carry their momentum into the game after the win over Denver gave them a winning record at 3-2. San Antonio has struggled early on, owning a reverse record of 2-3.
As expected, the Timberwolves will have their hands full in the game with 20-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama, who is fresh off a five-by-five game against the Utah Jazz. The game marked the second five-by-five performance in the young career of Wembaynama, who notched 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks. The five blocks bumped his season average up to 3.2 per game, second in the league behind Chet Holmgren's 3.8.