Will Anthony Edwards Be Suspended In Game 1 vs Suns? Ant Man-Bradley Beal Scuffle Could Cost Wolves Dearly

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns concluded their final regular season game at the Target Center, a few hours ago. Tension between both teams was seen heating up during the game. It ultimately reached a high point after the Suns’ Bradley Beal reportedly exchanged unpleasant words with his rival coach Chris Finch when the latter’s team was down by 20. However, Anthony Edwards didn’t take long to intervene and shoved Beal with his left arm. Players from both teams eventually broke the scuffle. But the duo ended up receiving technical fouls.

Edwards’ recent actions resulted in him receiving his 16 technical foul, which would ultimately result in a specified suspension period. With the playoffs approaching, many people have questioned whether the same is possible. Pioneer Press reporter Jace Fredrick recently took to his official X account to provide an update, stating that the playoffs would not allow the 22-year-old player to receive the long-term punishment for now. So then, what’s the norm?

Suspending a player/coach without pay after he received his 16th technical foul has been a long-standing rule in the NBA handbook. The same individual would be suspended for an additional game after he commits two more fouls in the aftermath of his 16th one. While not many cases were seen this season, both Warriors star Draymond Green, and Mavericks lead scorer Luka Doncic ended up getting suspended last season after reaching the threshold. Fortunately for the players, they were suspended from a regular season game, not a playoff.

Once a player reaches the playoffs, any technical fouls incurred by them get reset. However, they still can receive fouls during the postseason. Once the respective player takes his technical foul tally from 0 to 7 during the playoffs, they will, unfortunately, have to face repercussions and get suspended.

By carrying his team over to the tournament’s next stage, Anthony Edwards has avoided a suspension for the time being. However, there is still no confirmation on whether the player will also not pay the $5,000 fine imposed for the technical foul.

Timberwolves’ HC claimed back in January that Anthony Edwards needed to get his foul count “under control”

While it may have progressed steadily during the recent few games, Anthony Edwards’ foul count was nothing close to low during the not-so-early stages of the regular season. By the time January approached, he had tied with Luka Doncic, Jordan Poole, and Max Strus as the player with the fifth most technical fouls of the regular season. This ‘stat’ was not something that the Timberwolves head coach was happy about.

In the aftermath of Edwards receiving his 7th foul during a game against the Detroit Pistons, Chris Finch was reminded that his player was now almost halfway to receiving his one-game suspension punishment. The coach said the situation was even worse during the last season, but that is not an excuse for his shooting guard to continue living up to his ‘reputation’.

“It’s a little bit of a concern. He did a good job of keeping it in check, really, from the middle of last season onward. But it’s up,” said Chris Finch. “He’s got to get it under control. It’s really not acceptable to be getting a technical right now at the rate that he is.”

Fast forward to three months later, during which the player now finds himself finally having attained the 16th foul threshold. While he may have been saved this time, the future offers no guarantees to anyone.