In a game where the Minnesota Timberwolves were looking to make a statement, Anthony Edwards nearly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The young star went down clutching his ankle—not after a hard foul, not after a bad landing, but because he accidentally stepped on Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez’s foot. Fans watching couldn’t believe what they had just seen. Coaches getting that close to the action? That’s a first.

Luckily for Minnesota, Edwards is built like a tank. He shook off the injury, came back in the second half, and torched the Nets for 28 points on a scorching 10-of-15 shooting night. With Rudy Gobert dominating the boards and the defense locking down, the Timberwolves cruised to a 95-79 win, staying ahead in the brutal Western Conference playoff race. But even after the victory, fans weren’t ready to let Fernandez off the hook.

Now, NBA players rolling ankles on bad landings? That happens all the time. But stepping on a coach’s foot? That’s new.

Here’s what went down: Edwards had just drilled a corner three when, while stepping back, his foot landed on Fernandez’s. The result? An awkward roll, immediate pain, and an entire fanbase holding its breath. He had to be helped off the court, sparking fears that the Timberwolves’ playoff push was about to take a serious hit.

But then came the twist—Edwards wasn’t done for the night. After a locker room check, he walked back onto the court like nothing had happened and proceeded to drop buckets. While fans were relieved, they were also asking the obvious question: Why was Fernandez even standing that close to the sideline?

Fans sound off: Was Fernandez too close?

As expected, social media didn’t hold back. The first reaction was simple: “Weird place for Fernandez to be?” It’s a fair point. NBA coaches have a designated coaching box along the sideline where they’re allowed to stand. But anyone who watches the league knows that coaches tend to wander a little outside those boundaries—sometimes stepping further onto the court than they should.

In Fernandez’s case, there’s no evidence that he was constantly overstepping, but fans weren’t in the mood for technicalities. If an injury like this could happen once, what’s stopping it from happening again?

Then came the outright frustration: “That’s inexcusable from Jordi Fernandez. Never in my life seen that before.” But here’s the thing—Fernandez doesn’t exactly have a reputation for this kind of thing. In fact, there’s no known record of him interfering with players or being out of position in a way that caused injuries before. This seems to be a freak accident rather than a pattern of careless sideline behavior.

Still, it happened. And once it happens, people start wondering how to make sure it never happens again.

The more serious conversations started with this reaction: “The NBA needs to increase the distance between the sideline and the bench IMMEDIATELY. That Anthony Edwards injury should never happen.“

The NBA has already taken steps in the past to increase sideline space. Back in the 2020 bubble, the league introduced wider borders around the court and adjusted team bench setups for more spacing. But once the league returned to normal arenas, a lot of that spacing was reduced again.

So, should the NBA rethink sideline setups? Some fans believe the risk of another player stepping on a coach or a courtside camera operator is too high to ignore. If Edwards had suffered a serious injury, this conversation would have been even louder.

And then there were the more extreme takes: “Brooklyn Nets coach should be ejected for injuring Anthony Edwards.” Now, let’s be real—there’s no NBA rule that says a coach should be ejected for something like this. Coaches usually get tossed for arguing with refs, interfering with play, or unsportsmanlike conduct. Accidentally being in the wrong place at the wrong time? That’s not an ejectable offense.

But this reaction highlights just how frustrating the situation was for fans. If Edwards had been forced to miss time, Timberwolves fans wouldn’t have cared whether it was accidental or not—they would have wanted some form of punishment.

At the end of the day, the biggest relief for Minnesota was that Edwards wasn’t seriously hurt. He came back, took over the game, and helped his team secure a crucial win in the playoff race.

But, this whole incident exposed a real concern: Coaches might not always realize how close they are to the action, and something like this could easily happen again. Whether the NBA takes action or not, you can bet every head coach in the league is going to think twice before stepping too close to the court. Because the last thing any team wants is for their playoff hopes to be derailed—not by an opponent, not by bad luck, but by a coach standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.