Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards took another shot to his left ankle in Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors.
Midway through the second quarter, Edwards had a shot at the rim blocked by Warriors center Trayce Jackson-Davis. While landing after the play, Jackson-Davis inadvertently stepped on Edwards’ left ankle. Edwards remained on the floor and teammate Rudy Gobert gave a foul to stop play.
Edwards had originally hurt the same ankle in Game 4 of the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers. On that occasion, he was battling LeBron James for a loose ball and James’ diving effort landed on Edwards, which left him writhing in pain.
Incredibly, Edwards returned to action in both scenarios.
In this instance, Edwards first went to the locker room and was tended to by David Hines, the team’s vice president of medical operations and performance.
“Once we got to like the third movement in my ankle, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s starting to feel good. If we tape it, I’ll see how it feels,'” Edwards said. “[Hines] does a great job of making sure I’m good before I get out there, so big shoutout to David.”
Edwards finished the game with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Minnesota dominated from start to finish in a 117-93 victory that tied the series at one game apiece.
Wolves Marvel At Edwards’ Rapid Healing
“This one, I was really worried about, actually,” Wolves head coach Chris Finch said after the game. “This one, I was really planning on not seeing him the rest of the game, to be honest with you.”
Finch’s comments speak to the pain level Edwards is trying to manage right now. It surely helps being 23-years-old but, considering the size of both James and Jackson-Davis, those aren’t exactly light hits Edwards’ ankle has sustained.
“He’s one of the more resilient people that I know,” Julius Randle said. “Nothing holds him down. He never misses games. For as much attention and effort teams do to try to stop him, he’s never one to sit out a game. … I don’t know, he’s like Ironman. I’ve seen him get hit, get knocked down so many times.
“Better off, he’s like Wolverine. He gets hurt and he does something in the back. I don’t know what the hell he does … but he comes out and he balls. That’s what he does.”
Is Edwards a real life Wolverine?
He’s played at least 79 games in each of the past three seasons. Now in his fourth playoff appearance, Edwards hasn’t missed any of Minnesota’s 34 playoff games during his tenure.
Edwards is showing he can either battle through extreme pain or heals extremely rapidly.
Game 3 is Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EST.
