Sometimes the jokes write themselves.
90 minutes before the announcement of the Timberwolves’ Monday meeting with the Trail Blazers, Minnesota’s official social media job a photo of Anthony Edwards entering the Target Center with the caption “showed up in shorts. he’s ready to hoop.” Turns out he wasn’t ready to play hoops.
As the game was about to begin, Edwards, a two-time All-Star and member of the Wolves’ starting lineup, was curiously absent. Edwards took the court moments before the first shot, but it was too late to enter the game, as reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker lined up around the jump circle.
Last match of the homestand!#RaisedByWolves X #RipCity
????: Bally Sports North
Stream ➡ https://t.co/444WSk9Hi0 and the Bally Sports app pic.twitter.com/hB9gwmamVy– Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) March 5, 2024
After a strange turn of events, Edwards watched the jump ball from the scorer’s table and checked the game 35 seconds later, marking his first time off the bench in more than 250 games. So why was Edwards late to court?
“I lost track of time,” Edwards explain following the match.
The 22-year-old’s pregame routine usually involves working out with resistance bands outside the locker room while the rest of the team warms up, according to The ESPN report. As bizarre as the situation is, Edwards’ pregame routine explains how he could have been on a different timeline than the rest of the team. After Monday’s slip-up, it is reasonable to assume that a situation of this nature will not occur again.
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To be fair to Edwards, it’s been a busy week. Just three days before his late entry, Edwards had a early release of a Timberwolves game to attend the birth of his child.
With that in mind, losing track of time seems a little easier to do.
The mistake didn’t prove too costly: the Timberwolves simply received a warning for delay of game and ultimately earned a 119-114 victory to return to first place in the Western Conference. And in 35 minutes of action coming off the bench, Edwards finished with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds.
