Highlights:
- Anthony Edwards scored 42 points in the match against Phoenix Suns
- Anthony sets a new bar for rookie excellence for his franchise
- Minnesota Timberwolves wins the match against Phonix Suns in a nail biter score 123-119
The Minneapolis based basketball franchise Minnesota Timberwolves has seen 11 top-five Draft picks suit up for the franchise during its 32-year history.
Not a single one of them — or any other Timberwolves rookie for that matter — scored as many points in his rookie season as Anthony Edwards did on Friday morning for the franchise.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 Draft gave in a career-high 42 points in Minnesota’s stunning and nail biting score 123-119 win over the Phoenix Suns. This performance bests the previous Timberwolves rookie nights by Zach LaVine who scored 37 points, Karl-Anthony Towns who scored 35 points, and Christian Laettner who scored 35 points.
Edwards also surpassed Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey for most points scored by a first-year player this season.
At just 19 years and 226 days of age, Edwards has become the third-youngest player in the history of the NBA to score 40 or more points in a game, behind only the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
| The youngest players to score 40 or more | ||
| PLAYER | AGE | DATE |
| LeBron James | 19 years, 88 days | March 27, 2004 |
| Kevin Durant | 19 years, 200 days | April 16, 2008 |
| Anthony Edwards | 19 years, 225 days | March 18, 2021 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 19 years, 306 days | March 30, 2004 |
Edwards managed to get to the rim at will against a Suns team which boasts the fourth-best defensive rating in the league.
The Atlanta, Georgia, product shot 11-for-18 from inside the arc and earned a game-high 13 free throw attempts. His driving layup with 2:36 remaining, the shot that put him past the 40-point mark in the game also put Minnesota ahead for good.
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It seems like Edwards has been since Timberwolves coach Chris Finch replaced Ryan Saunders on the 22nd of February.
In his last 10 games since, the 6-foot-4 guard has been averaging 24.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.3 steals while shooting a markedly improved 41.9% from the field.
After the Friday Morning game, Edwards said, “I put in the work,” and added “I work in the dark. It should come to the light.”
Finch said, “He’s blooming for us at the right time”.
Anthony Edwards is now the 3rd No. 1 overall pick in the last 20 seasons to score 40+ points in a game as a rookie, joining Blake Griffin (twice) and LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/Buz9g2hTih
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) March 19, 2021
However, it was not just Edwards as the former No. 1 pick to go off for the Timberwolves against Phoenix. Towns also dominated the Suns’ normally stingy defence for 41 points to his own name, an encouraging season-high after the 25-year-old big man had battled injuries and COVID-19 earlier this season.
Both, Towns and Edwards, become the seventh pair of teammates where each of them scored 40 or more points in the same game in over the last 20 seasons, and the first since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George did so on Dec. 13, 2019.
| Teammates to score 40 or more in the same game | ||
| DATE | TEAM | PLAYERS |
| March 18, 2021 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Anthony Edwards (42), Karl-Anthony Towns (41) |
| Dec. 13, 2019 | LA Clippers | Paul George (46), Kawhi Leonard (42) |
| Feb. 22, 2019 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Paul George (45), Russell Westbrook (43) |
| April 9, 2017 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Andrew Wiggins (41), Karl-Anthony Towns (40) |
| Oct. 30, 2015 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Russell Westbrook (48), Kevin Durant (43) |
| March 23, 2012 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Russell Westbrook (45), Kevin Durant (40) |
| Feb. 19, 2012 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Kevin Durant (51), Russell Westbrook (40) |