The Minnesota Timberwolves left Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a tough 114–88 loss in which they looked pretty overmatched in the second half.
But even with the loss, Wolves stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle were able to find something to laugh about after the game—though just what they found so funny takes a bit of investigative work.
As the duo sat down to take questions from the media, Edwards grabbed the box score that had been printed out and set in front of him and pointed at something, sharing a laugh with Randle.
Ant and Randle laughing while looking at box score 😅 pic.twitter.com/d75XdyikZ1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 21, 2025
There are several potential box score stats that might spark a laugh—did one player extremely outplay or underplay their averages? Maybe one plan that the Wolves had worked well or backfired, and was evidenced in the stat sheet.
But NBA fans think they’ve solved this case, and it’s far simpler than what you might have in mind—Randle and Edwards were laughing about foul shots.
According to the most popular theory online, the Wolves duo was having a laugh at the amount of times Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to get to the foul line.
It makes sense, as SGA has been accused of being a “free-throw merchant,” including getting the moniker chanted at him while on the road in Minnesota earlier this year.
While many successful guards are accused of baiting fouls, the numbers on Tuesday night certainly stood out—Gilgeous-Alexander shot 14 free throws on the night. No other player shot more than seven.
We ALL know what they saw 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/z2dD42QFVV
— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) May 21, 2025
They’re laughing at how many FTs Shai shot
— 770LOCKS (@770locks) May 21, 2025
They hate that FT Merchant SGA
— Ben (@TheHurricaneBen) May 21, 2025
The FTs 😂
— Condoriano Ken (@kdazilma) May 21, 2025
Regardless of what precisely sparked the fit of laughter after the game, Edwards, Randle and the rest of the Wolves will have to clean their game up if they hope to turn things around in Game 2.
While it might be nice to know that their spirits aren’t so diminished as to keep them from having fun, another loss followed by another bit of laughter at the podium would not be a good look.
More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What Stat Made Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle Burst Out Laughing?.
