'Swag' is contagious for Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves

If there was a word of the day in Anthony Edwards' media session following Minnesota's 124-104 victory over the Lakers, it was swag.

Edwards used it more than a dozen times in his postgame media session, with one "swaggy" in there for good measure.

As Karl-Anthony Towns was waving goodbye to the Lakers as he exited the floor, and he and Patrick Beverley were having fun with a late Russell Westbrook airball, the topic of the day turned to the confidence and bravado the Wolves have. Or in other words, how much swag they have.

"A couple players on your team got to have swag," Edwards said. "It can't just be one. Once a couple of them get swag, then you put it in three more, four more and everybody feel like they the man of the hour and that's what we need."

Edwards, who had 27 points Wednesday, said somebody had told him the Timberwolves haven't had a lot of success over the years.

"I heard they haven't been winning since like [2003] or something, '04? I was like three years old," Edwards said.

The missing ingredient? Swag, of course.

"This is not the Timberwolves that didn't have swag since '04. Because I'm coming with a lot of swag," Edwards said. "And I'm putting that in my teammates. And Pat Bev [Patrick Beverley] coming with a lot of swag and he's putting it into teammates. We're going to go off that."

Edwards said even last year, the Wolves were a team with no swag, and Edwards said the addition of Beverley has made the team's collective swag increase, along with his own personal swag.

"Like he just off the charts, so he going to make everybody have swag," Edwards said. "He make my swag go up, andI feel like my swag is as high as it can get. But KAT's swag is definitely rising, man, and it can get a lot higher, so people are going to struggle, for sure, with KAT."

That's also a change from a season ago, Edwards said. Towns is playing with a lot more confidence, and his teammates have helped infuse that in him.

"KAT last year didn't say a word on the court, now he talking crazy to people," Edwards said. "It's because he got swag. He kill the drip coming into the game, showing off the watch. Yeah, he's swaggy. For sure. Love that. Love KAT."

It has become a part of their identity, and one reason why they think they are 41-30 and are in prime position for a shot at the playoffs. Beverley said this was one of his goals, to bring this kind of attitude to town.

"Being on the other side, coming into Minnesota, a swagless team over the years. Not really understanding an identity, but this year is very different," Beverley said. "We know exactly who we are. We're not backing down from anybody. Humbly though, very humbly. Not arrogant in that sense. Very comfortable in our skin.

"We're not running away from any type of smoke or ducking any type of action. We want to show the league that this is a team that's going to be talked about for the next couple of years."