At least outwardly, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards didn't share the outrage of fans and his teammates that NBA coaches passed on him for selection in the All-Star Game.
Anthony Edwards says he's not upset about being passed over for NBA All-Star Game
The Timberwolves guard would still have a chance to make the team as an injury replacement.
February 3, 2023 at 6:12PM
"I ain't think nothing about it," Edwards said at shootaround Friday morning. "I'm just happy for the guys that got in."
When the league revealed the list of reserves Thursday night, Edwards was on the outside looking in as players like Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Clippers' Paul George made it ahead of him. This was despite Edwards playing 16 more games than George and 19 more games than Jackson.
The number of games played is a point of pride for Edwards, even if voters didn't seem to consider that when filling out their ballots. Edwards also leads the league in total minutes played with 1,976.6.
"I won't miss games. I don't ever want to miss games," Edwards said. "I want to play every game. I just love playing basketball, so anytime I can go out there and play at 7 [p.m.], I'm ready."
Edwards is averaging 24.9 points per game and made a case with a strong surge in December and January once Karl-Anthony Towns went out because of a right calf injury. Since then, Edwards has been the focal point of the Wolves' offense and has helped keep the Wolves around or above .500 while Towns recuperates.
In 21 games before Towns' injury, The third-year guard was averaging 22.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists on a true shooting percentage of .564. True shooting percentage is a shooting statistic that weighs the value of three-pointers and free throws in its metrics.
After Towns' injury, a span of 33 games, Edwards has averaged 26.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists with a true shooting percentage of .577.
"I started the season off bad, so I kind of knew I wasn't going to be an All-Star from the start," Edwards said. "So I'm not trippin'."
Edwards received texts from teammates telling him it was wrong voters passed him over. He said it seemed like they were more upset than he was.
"He goes out there and puts his all into the game and you can see it," center Naz Reid said. "I'm pretty sure you all see it as well. It's tough for him to be in the situation with the All-Star [Game]. For him to go out there every night and prove that he belongs, it's tough. That's something that we all carry with him, along with that mental toughness and fortitude to just go out there and put everything on the floor."
Reid said one of the most impressive qualities Edwards has shown this season is leadership, which has grown in Edwards' third season. Edwards doesn't just lead by example in being available every night to play. He also has been more vocal this season.
"He's so young, but yet he knows how to lead a team," Reid said. "That's big. Just having guys follow suit in the right direction. He just wants to work and he makes everybody else want to work."
Edwards said he will go "above and beyond" next season to try and earn an All-Star spot. For now, he said he wasn't sweating the decision.
"As long as we go to the playoffs," he said, "I don't care."
Naz Reid led the Wolves with 25 points off the bench, Anthony Edwards added 21, and Minnesota made sure Charlotte didn’t leave Target Center with another victory.
