By Jon Krawczynski, Shams Charania and Alex Andrejev
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ impressive poster dunk over Utah Jazz power forward John Collins on Monday was so emphatic it left both players injured.
Edwards, in a postgame interview with Bally Sports North, said he dislocated a finger on his left hand. Collins, on the receiving end of the dunk, left with a head contusion after contesting the slam, according to league sources. Collins did not suffer a concussion.
The highlight-worthy moment occurred with Minnesota trailing by one point in the third quarter. With the ball poked to Edwards, he picked it up, dribbled down the court and passed it off Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who then sent the ball back to Edwards in the lane. Edwards then proceeded to slam home the potential dunk-of-the-year over the 6-foot-9 Collins.
After Edwards landed, he appeared to be holding his finger as teammates surrounded him to celebrate.
Minnesota went on to win 114-104, with Edwards scoring a game-high 32 points.
Æ5. GOODNESS. 🐜 pic.twitter.com/7qtk0Cm6tg
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 19, 2024
Edwards’ dunk history
Edwards is no stranger to high-flying dunks. From his rookie season, when he brought an avalanche on Toronto’s Yuta Watanabe, he quickly became known as one of the league’s most violent in-game dunkers. Alperen Şengün, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen McDaniels and Jalen Duren are just a few of the defenders who have felt his wrath over the years. His best dunk, arguably, was one that didn’t technically count when he threw down over Miami’s Gabe Vincent in his second season and was called for an offensive foul.
This one on Collins was impactful in more ways than one. The Wolves were trailing when Edwards elevated, unable to get going offensively without the injured Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, who did not play in the second half because of a head injury. The Wolves outscored the Jazz 49-38 the rest of the way to get a much-needed win.
Collins did not return to the game after the dunk, with Edwards’ hand inadvertently striking Collins in the head.
The dunk got Edwards going as well. He scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half to put the Wolves offense on his back. — Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves senior writer
WE’LL JUST LEAVE THIS HERE. pic.twitter.com/Uak7YZzJIt
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 19, 2024
‘He’s Wolverine’
When Edwards threw the dunk down, he stopped and looked at his left hand. Teammates also took a look at his finger and had wide eyes as Edwards quickly went to the locker room for attention. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called timeout to buy some time because Edwards needed to shoot a free throw after being fouled on the dunk. If he did not shoot the free throw, he could not return to the game.
Edwards came back with his fingers on his left hand taped up, and appeared no worse for the wear. This followed a pattern for the 22-year-old star. He has become known for suffering injuries that, at first glance, appear to be very serious. But after a quick trip to the locker room, he returns to play with little sign that he was ever hurt.
“He’s Wolverine,” Edwards’ business manager, Justin Holland, has said. — Krawczynski
ALLLLLL THE ANGLES. 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/Vld2F0ifHG
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 19, 2024
Big picture
Could a performance like this one vault Edwards into the conversation for All-NBA First Team? Four of the spots seem to be pretty locked up with Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all heavy favorites for the honors.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum figures to get strong consideration for the fifth and final spot, given he is the best player on the Boston Celtics, the team that has been by far the best this season. But if Edwards keeps putting up games like this to keep the Timberwolves in contention for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with Towns and Gobert both out, he will make a compelling case.
He’s making quite a push for it. In the previous 14 games, he was averaging 29.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He was averaging 31 points and 7.2 rebounds in the five games Towns missed prior to beating Utah. That has the Wolves (47-21) tied with Denver for second in the West, just a half-game behind Oklahoma City. — Krawczynski
Required reading
(Photo: Alex Goodlett / Getty)
