“He could get downhill, but he can’t shoot.” That was the early knock on Anthony Edwards when he first entered the league. But fast forward to today, and the Timberwolves star is flipping that narrative on its head. Edwards recently admitted he’s been zeroed in on perfecting his 3-point shot—something that’s long been a sticking point in his game. “I’ve been trying to perfect it,” he said earlier in the tournament. Like any rising star, growth in the NBA means confronting your flaws head-on. Edwards has had his ups and downs from deep, but on the nights when his shot isn’t falling, head coach Chris Finch already has a contingency plan.

The Minnesota Timberwolves head coach recently participated in a Q&A session with media members. During the same, he was asked what instructions he gives Anthony Edwards on a bad shooting night. Finch revealed that things can get “pressing” in such situations.

Therefore, he reveals implementing a change in such situations, by stating “So, usually in the game, in those moments, Ill just, you know, tell him to get to other parts of his game, you know, but certainly stay ready to knock down shots, but it will make too big of a deal out of it. You know, we have, we didn’t, nobody shot them all particularly well the other day, and we’re still able to win. So, there’s credit to our guys, and other things that they can do to win games”.

Along with highlighting this change, Chris Finch also revealed the impact that Julius Randle’s presence has had on the 23-year-old. According to the team head coach, the former Knicks player is a “consummate” worker, as he’s often always found in the gym. This also motivated Anthony Edwards to a point, and “both of them love to come back and get extra shots up at night. Actually one thing I have seen now is Ant goes to the gym super early. On game day, Julius will go in there and a half hours before, and get his work in when no one else is in the gym, and Ant follows him now”. All of this indicates that Anthony Edwards is certainly not the same player as he was last year, as both Chris Finch and Julius Randle have instructed/motivated him enough to convince him to change his playing style.

Anthony Edwards was averaging 2.4-6.7 (35.7%) three-pointers during the previous NBA season. That stat improved by quite a bit in his recent regular season run as, in the last 79 games, Edwards averaged 4.1-10.3 (39.5%) 3-pointers. The 23-year-old, at first, reportedly credited his three-point shooting improvement to spending more time with Stephen Curry during the 2024 Paris Olympics by saying to Rachel Nichols, “I’d say Steph. Playing without the ball, running around, cutting, setting screening, getting guys open. Steph did it for the whole Olympics and I definitely try to mimic that.” Now, we get to know that Randle might have also played a hand in the initial change.

A prime example of the different roles Anthony Edwards can take on a bad shooting night was seen during the recent Game 5 of the Timberwolves-Lakers playoff series. After all, the player shot an abysmally low 5-19 (26.3%) field goals, 0-11 (0.0%) 3-pointers, and 5-8 (62.5%) free throws. Fortunately, Rudy Gobert managed to handle things on the offensive front, recording 27 points and 24 rebounds in a memorable double-double. Edwards had previously penetrated the paint and created scoring opportunities for his teammates on a bad shooting night. He did so for Game 5, too, by recording 8 assists.

Even if Anthony Edwards cannot shoot well, there is also something that he can do other than assist. He can instill hope. No one knows this better than the former athlete who once attempted to get majority control of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Alex Rodriguez praised Anthony Edwards by drawing a Kirby Puckett comparison

For MLB legend, the Minnesota Timberwolves are both a pleasant and a sore subject. After all, the baseball star has liked the NBA franchise enough to once pursue to secure a majority ownership, along with Marc Lore, back in 2024. However, after owner Glen Taylor rejected it, the duo was stuck with a minority ownership of the franchise. Throughout it all, however, A-Rod has always held Anthony Edwards in high regard. After Edwards made the claim in 2024 that “Hey, I’m here for the long haul”, Rodriguez endorsed it by stating that it is something that “every fan in Minnesota wants to hear”. That level of support has not gone away even now.

A new instalment of Anthony Edwards’ ‘Year Five’ docuseries was recently released on YouTube. The same carried remarks from Alex Rodriguez, who said, “The one person (Edwards) reminds me of is a guy that I came up loving and admiring and was a great mentor to me, and that’s Kirby Puckett. He was always happy. He won two titles here; he was a center fielder. You know, what Kirby Puckett did is he gave people in Minnesota hope. I think Ant gives you that same hope.”

Anthony Edwards knows to stand his ground and be confident, even when the odds do not seem to be going the team’s way. An example was seen in Game 5, when Edwards revealed getting into a verbal fight with a courtside Lakers fan. As Edwards recalled, “That (expletive) said, ‘You’re 0-for-11 from three, stop shooting!’ I said, ‘Y’all finna lose. Go home, beat the traffic (expletive)’”. Lose, the Lakers surely did.

Furthermore, even though the player faltered in that recent game, he did lead the Wolves past the first round of the playoffs, in back-to-back seasons, for the first time in the franchise’s history. He has been providing highlight after highlight in his five-year career, with the 4-1 series win over the Los Angeles Lakers being just one example. Therefore, having a young star like him on the team’s side, who needs to be worried about his bad shooting night?

Chris Finch has an eccentric yet resourceful player leading the team. The latter will get more than enough chances to make up for his recent faults during the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Whether he makes good use of that chance is something that remains to be seen.