“He’s fun to watch, he’s cocky, he’s brash, but he backs it up,” said ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne when describing Anthony Edwards’ personality. Those weren’t empty words. Within just four years, Edwards has elevated the Minnesota Timberwolves to a new level while establishing remarkable individual stats. At the same time, however, his competitive and ‘cocky’ demeanor has often landed him in trouble. As of now, it has cost him a sum that few may not even see in their lifetime. In light of this, you would think that Edwards would be more careful about what he does and says, right? Right? Well, no.

According to AZ Central reporter Duane Rankin, the NBA has now fined Anthony Edwards $50K for using “profane language” during a media interview. This was about the comments Edwards made after the T-Wolves lost in Game 1 of their Conference Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Taking responsibility during the post-game presser, he said, “I definitely gotta shoot more. I only took 13 f**king shots.” That was it. The profanity part was enough to get the player another fine!

Knowing how the NBA has strict rules over the use of profanity, Anthony Edwards should have been more careful about how he frames his remarks. It is not as if he is a novice to these fines. In fact, he is as far from it as a player in the modern NBA can be, since his current fine is just another drop in the bucket previously containing a whopping $614,000 he accumulated through fines! Just in THIS SEASON!

Edwards’ troubles began in mid-November, when the NBA fined him for sticking out the middle finger toward a Kings fan. The month after that, the league fined Edwards $25,000 “for using profane language during a media interview”. That same month, after losing to the Warriors, Edwards famously criticized the referees by stating “They’re f***ing terrible”, and “That s*** was terrible”. He received a $75,000 fine “for public criticism of officiating and using inappropriate and profane language” with the media during the post-game period. That wasn’t all for December. Edwards’ usage of back-to-back curse words at one point got him his biggest fine of the season: $100,000!

Someone like Anthony Edwards, who is playing under a 5-year, $244.623 million contract, would not mind paying the fines as it would make only a small dent in his earnings. Furthermore, one can sympathize with the player, as his use of profanity stemmed from being upset over the Game 1 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Therefore, one way to ensure that Edwards does not swear again and that the Minnesota Timberwolves stay on in the race for the Larry O’Brien trophy is to deliver a memorable performance in Game 2. To do so, Edwards already has plans in place.

Anthony Edwards asks the Timberwolves locker room to be more aggressive going into Game 2: “impose our game on them”

Even though he used profanity when making the point, one cannot ignore the fact that Anthony Edwards did need to shoot more. More successfully, too, since the 18 points he accumulated in the game were through 5-13 (38.5%) field goals, 3-8 (37.5%) 3-pointers, and 5-7 (71.4%) free throws. At the same time, it is important to remember that the Timberwolves lost by a 114-88 score, aka a 26-point margin. Except for Julius Randle, who recorded 28 points, no one scored higher than Edwards, nor did they score in the double digits. Therefore, going into Game 2, Edwards demanded a fire to ignite within his teammates that was lost in Game 1.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive, take what the defense gives us but also impose our game on them” said Edwards.

Out of the 15 players on the Timberwolves squad, 12 players had a negative plus/minus rating, while 2 did not play in the game at all. Only Mike Conley was in the positive, but his 5 wasn’t anything too impressive, either. Edwards’ -23 was the worst, with Mike Conley ranking 2nd with his -21 due to his 1-11 (9.1%) field goals, 0-7 (0.0%) 3-pointers, and 2-2 (100%) free throws. Donte DiVincenzo, who had a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and a 3-point percentage of 50.0% in his previous game, shot only 3-14 (21.4%) field goals, 3-12 (25.0%) 3-pointers, and 0-0 (0%) free throws in the recent game. Therefore, Edwards was far from joking when he asked for the need for his players to be more aggressive.

Anthony Edwards has shown he does not care how much fine he accumulates from his use of profanity. However, coming so close to the NBA Finals, only to let it slip from his hands for the 2nd year in a row, is something the player might not be able to bear. Therefore, with any luck, the Timberwolves might be able to turn things around when they next face Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and co in the next few hours.