The MVP continues to march forward to win the championship. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led his team with 34 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. They closed out any chance for the Minnesota Timberwolves to come back from being 3-1 down in the Western Conference Finals. Once again, Anthony Edwards’ performance on the court is under scrutiny, this time by NBA icon Magic Johnson. Who previously rated him highly before the WCF.

“The Minnesota Timberwolves did not put forth a desperation effort in tonight’s game. They had bad body language and played like they were already on vacation.” This tweet from Magic Johnson also summarizes the Wolves’ performance in Game 5. In the first quarter, they only scored 9 points and allowed OKC to get off to a hot start by conceding 26 points.

In the second quarter, the trend continued as the Thunder dominated with 39 points and the Wolves managed only 23. The Thunder held the Timberwolves to just 32 points in the first half, a near-record low for them. Overall, defensively, OKC put a hold on Minnesota as they were limited to 40.5% shooting and forced 21 turnovers. A result that even the Lakers legend did not predict previously.

“I have the New Knicks beating the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals!”

They shot an atrocious 3-17 from the field in the first period. Meaning, they had more turnovers than field goals made. The Thunder never gave the Timberwolves much of a chance Wednesday night, leading by as much as 39. Ultimately, the season came to an end when they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 124-94. This marks the second straight year the Timberwolves lost in the conference finals in five games.

Anthony Edwards finished the loss with 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block while shooting 7/18 from the field and 1/7 from the three-point range. This was similar to his performance in a Game 4 loss, scoring 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including just 1-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc.

Magic Johnson has the last laugh after Anthony Edwards fails to win

For some time, Ant-Man, being the next Michael Jordan, has been a hot debate. Many firmly believe he has the drive to win like the Bulls legend, as some of his dunks and trash-talking behavior pointed towards the comparison. But adding fuel to the fire was the comment from the Wolves guard, who claimed only His Airness had skills back in the day. Shocking, right?

“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean?” After Edwards’ comments, it was Magic Johnson who defended his generation of players. Plus, his message was also a quick recap for many.

“Thanks a lot, Anthony,” Johnson said on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. “I think he should’ve asked somebody, maybe his father or his grandfather, about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J., Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Clyde Drexler, all these guys, Dominique Wilkins. We had some of the most dominant players that’s ever played. Also, too, you might want to talk trash when you’ve won something.”

Back-to-back Conference Finals exit may seem like a positive for the Wolves. But how many more such losses before they win, and will Anthony Edwards stay around? Such questions will float as the Minnesota franchise looks to find solutions in the offseason.