Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards entered Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz with six fewer made 3-pointers than league leader Malik Beasley of the Detroit Pistons. He was precisely aware of where he stood.
And Edwards was determined to take the 3-point title away from his former teammate. Mission accomplished.
Edwards knocked down seven shots from long range on his way to a game-high 43 points in Minnesota’s 116-105 win over the Jazz. The primary prize for Edwards and the Wolves was a top-six seed in the Western Conference, which keeps them out of the play-in tournament, but Edwards was pretty excited to come away with the 3-point title, too. His 320th of the season, which passed Beasley’s 319, came with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday afternoon’s game.
“I wanted to hit it a long time ago, but they didn’t want to go in for me,” Edwards said. “Appreciate rook, though. Jaylen Clark definitely kept me updated about it.”
Edwards is the first player in Timberwolves history to finish a season with the most made 3-pointers in the NBA.
The 3-point shooting from Edwards this season has been a key improvement in his game. He attempted over 10 per game for the first time in his career while shooting 40% from 3, the best mark of his career. While coach Chris Finch had always encouraged Edwards to shoot more 3s, the level at which he excelled this season wasn’t something even Finch expected.
“Not necessarily,” Finch responded when asked whether he expected this level of 3-point shooting from Edwards before Sunday’s game. “Just because he has so much game. But he’s also done a great job of not becoming one dimensional as well. Usually, guys who take that many 3s tend to be a little bit more one dimensional. … It just shows how much talent that he does have. When he puts his mind to being really, really good at something, it usually turns out.”
Edwards was certainly more than just a good 3-point shooter this season for the Wolves. He averaged a career-best 27.6 points per game, which ranked fourth in the entire NBA, trailing only OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokic. And that’s in addition to his 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
Edwards keeps getting better. And like Finch said, when he puts his mind to being good at something, it often turns out.
