Anthony Edwards turned criticism into leadership moment, says Timberwolves coach | Sporting News

A few days after Thanksgiving, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards expressed his frustrations with the team’s struggles.

After losing a fourth consecutive game, Edwards called the team out for being “soft.”

For a team that is coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance last season, they’re nowhere near the same team as last year. Working new players into a previously successful rotation is always harder than people think. It is early enough in the season that the Wolves have plenty of time to turn things around. Likely, that is why Edwards called his team out. 

While on the surface things appear dysfunctional for the Wolves, they may not be as bad as the public may think. Coach Chris Finch recently spoke with Paul Allen of KFAN Sports Radio 100.3 claiming Edwards was in the gym with some teammates on Thanksgiving.

“[He was] basically leading a private pep rally for them, cheering them on through individual workouts, and building confidence in some of the guys who have been struggling,” Finch said.

As he continues to become one of the top stars in the league, this is an indicator he is taking his stature in the league seriously. This quote from Finch also aligns with recent comments from guard Donte DiVincenzo addressing all of the “outside noise” about the team’s struggles.

“I said this at practice other day, we’re not worried about what other people are saying. We leave everything up to all you guys to decide about what works, what doesn’t work. We’re focused on ourselves and staying together. Stack a few wins, and everybody’s energy changes. So we just got to stay with it. When rough patches hit, and we hit a big rough patch early, and we’re just staying together,” DiVincenzo said.

It’s a great sign for the team as they try to turn things around after a huge confidence building win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Edwards is holding himself accountable and taking the initiative to lead his team to a turnaround season. 

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