Rudy Gobert delivered big; Julius Randle added his share as Minnesota handled the business at the Target Center. Gobert’s career-high 35 points and Randle’s 21-point performances handed the Timberwolves a much-needed win over the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. A win put them on the brink of a top-six finish, winning the multi-team tiebreakers within the cluster of teams. Feeling good? Wait for the twist…

The team’s star player, known for his questionable behaviour this season, struck again. Yes, you guessed it right: Anthony Edwards is once again on the wrong side of the decisions and picked up his 18th technical foul of the season. That prompted an automatic suspension for the next game on Sunday, against the Jazz, which the Timberwolves will need to win to improve their seed. More concerning news?

Edwards was also out for the Wolves’ last game against Utah. The Wolves lost that game. His current suspension strikes fear in the Wolves’ fanbase. The side, making a bold move at the start of the season, trusted Edwards over Karl Anthony Towns. KAT, now at the Knicks, is doing well, while Edwards’ suspensions, foul troubles and off-court activities are making more news than the team’s success. Right now, with just one game remaining, last season’s conference finalists are struggling to secure sixth place.

The situation in the Western mid-table has been revolving for weeks now. 6 teams -Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, Wolves, Grizzlies, and on a few occasions, Lakers were in the mix of the tussle for the ‘secured’ postseason standing. While the Clippers are on a six-game winning run, the Lakers, Warriors, and Nuggets are making efforts to improve, putting them in the safe zone. But the Wolves? Still hanging on to ‘must win’ situations.

And the team’s leading scorer will not play in the match. Edwards, averaging 27.6 points per game this season, had been an offensive source for the Wolves. On Friday night, when ANT was already one tech foul away from another suspension (one against the Jazz as mentioned earlier). Anthony was whistled for a personal foul while closely guarding Brooklyn’s Keon Johnson on the wing midway through the second quarter.

It was fine till then. But things got worse when Edwards expressed his disbelief, spreading his arms out and a furrowed glance at official Ray Acosta. No official would like that, and Edwards quickly got the technical, too. As per the post-game review by The Athletic’s Bill Kennedy, “Anthony Edwards was assessed a technical foul for use of profanity directed toward an official.”

Those who follow the NBA know that this is not the first time for Anthony Edwards. Till now, Edwards has paid $325,000 in fines for his misconduct and leads the league in the same. Not a very proud place to be in, though.

Anthony Edwards’ NBA fines ONLY in the 2024/25 season

The 23-year-old star looked very promising a season ago. Efficient and clutch scorer, making him the face of the Timberwolves in the 2024-25 season. Sadly, his behaviour on the court negatively impacted his image. In the 2023-24 NBA season, Anthony Edwards incurred fines totaling $285,000 for various offenses. These included fines for criticizing officials, using profanity, and an incident involving a chair. Remember?

In the 2024-25 season, he surpassed that total. As mentioned earlier, the fine is $325,000 till now and includes two automatic suspensions. Most of these fines are for making obscene gestures toward game officials. Anthony Edwards has also been booked for using inappropriate language a couple of times this season. The young guard himself has addressed the fines; he needs to be more mindful of his actions. “That’s my money being taken,” he admitted in a recent press conference.

While fans have mixed feelings (mostly negative) of Edwards’ behaviour on the court, his teammates have generally reacted with a mixture of concern and understanding. They know Anthony Edwards well, acknowledging his passion for the game while also recognizing the need for him to control his emotions and avoid further penalties.

It will be interesting to see how these events affect Edwards’ overall brand value and his place in the team. But first things first—Timberwolves need to win their final regular-season game without Anthony Edwards.