Minnesota Timberwolves guard/forward Anthony Edwards was unable to put weight on his right leg after sustaining a pretty gruesome looking right ankle sprain on Friday. He was helped off the floor and headed straight back to the locker room, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North has the video (via Twitter). The injury occurred with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter of Minnesota’s road game at Chicago, with Edwards rolling his ankle after a cross-court jump pass.
Although Edwards was clearly in a lot of pain when the play occurred, the Wolves didn’t initially rule him out of the game. He was first listed as questionable before being downgraded to out (Twitter link).
A first-time All-Star in 2022-23, Edwards is having an excellent third season for the Wolves, averaging 25.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.6 SPG on .460/.369/.767 shooting. He has appeared in every game thus far (36.4 MPG).
Edwards potentially missing additional time beyond this game could have huge ramifications for both Minnesota and the Western Conference playoff race. The Wolves are currently 35-35, the No. 7 seed, but five teams are right on their heels in the standings—they only lead the New Orleans Pelicans, the current No. 12 seed, by 1.5 games.
The former first-overall pick will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
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