The Minnesota Timberwolves did the unexpected in Game 1 of their much-anticipated first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Anthony Edwards guided the Timberwolves to a blowout 117-95 win over LA’s star-studded lineup. The 23-year-old finished the night with 22 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Edwards was as fearless as ever against an arena full of Lakers fans. As we all know, he doesn’t back down from a challenge or trash talk. So, when a few Lakers faithful tried to rattle Edwards during the game, he put his trash-talking abilities to good use. In fact, a bit too much, as his antics have landed him under the league’s spotlight.

The Timberwolves shooting guard was seen getting vocal with some Lakers fans in an exchange that has gone viral on social media. Edwards was seen chatting with some of the people from the crowd while he was on the sidelines after the win. While not much can be confirmed from the clip but Ant-Man was seen throwing some big numbers to remind the Lakers fans that he and his teammates were doing just fine. He can be heard saying $200 million in the viral video. “He got 200 million! He got 200 million! He got 200 million!” Edwards is seen yelling at the LA fans. After a brief discussion with his teammate Rudy Gobert, the amount jumped to $300 million. As he suggested that he and his teammates have some serious money.

However, things got a bit ugly when Edwards shouted, “My [expletive] bigger than yours,” pointing towards his private area. It was quite visible that emotions got the better of Edwards, and unfortunately, the whole incident was recorded. Well, as soon as it mustered attention on social media, one thing was clear: an action from the NBA was on its way against Ant-Man. Sure enough, that was the case; the league responded to this viral clip with a punishment announcement for the 23-year-old shooting guard on Tuesday. “The NBA is fining Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards $50,000 for his ‘my d— bigger than yours’ comments to the Lakers crowd Saturday night, sources tell ESPN.” Shams Charania of ESPN reported on X.

Well, being slapped with a $50,000 fine stings, but this isn’t anything Anthony Edwards hasn’t experienced before. The Minnesota superstar has been handed seven fines this season, which now stands at $370,000. He has previously been fined for use of profane language, throwing a ball into the stands, and other actions that the NBA deems punishable. Moreover, Edwards also leads the league in technical fouls committed this season with 16, and according to the league’s rule, with every additional technical foul, more fines are set to come his way. So, it’s clear that this is the 23-year-old’s first brush-up with the league, and given his nature, it isn’t his last as well. While Anthony Edwards deals with another fine, Adam Silver and the league have received a massive boost.

Adam Silver receives a massive boost in the opening weekend of the playoffs

The NBA regular season got off to a slow start, if we talk about the rating, something that was a huge topic of conversation during the season. Many people were concerned about the league’s declining viewership and even offered several ideas that could help the league. However, the same cannot be said for this season’s playoffs. According to Collin Salao of Front Office Sports, the opening weekend of the playoffs has not only been great as far as the viewership is concerned, the best in the last two and a half decades. “The opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs drew 4.4 million viewers, the most-watched in 25 years and +17% vs. last year.” He posted on X.

That’s massive news for the NBA’s governor, Adam Silver, and the rest of the league. “Highest rated opening weekend in 25 years … so the numbers are fantastic,” said the league’s governor before the release of the ratings. That’s because there has been a lot of speculation on the league’s failure to attract spectators.  4.4 million viewers in just the opening weekend of the 2025 playoffs might be assuring. It also makes you think which were the most viewed games over the weekend. Well, three of the most-watched matchups were led by the defending champion Celtics defeating the Orlando Magic.

This game managed to attract as many as 6.69 million viewers on Sunday. Meanwhile, Los Angeles vs Minnesota’s star-studded affair mustered 5.84 million viewers. This might have been the reason why the league was so strict with Anthony Edwards’ antics during the third quarter of the game. It’s great to hear that the people are still tuning in for the sport they love after seeing a 2 percent decline in the first months of the regular season. It will be interesting to see how much more the ratings can climb, given this is just the beginning of the postseason.