Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards Took Extreme Measures to Return for Game 1

The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Denver Nuggets in six games in their first-round series of the NBA playoffs. The Timberwolves had to finish off their bitter rivals without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, as both were injured in the first half of Game 4.

DiVincenzo tore his Achilles, so his season is sadly over, while Edwards suffered a bone bruise and hyperextended his left knee. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last Sunday, April 26, that Edwards was “expected to miss multiple weeks.”

Edwards missed all of one week.

“Edwards has tried multiple treatments over the last several days, including hyperbaric chamber sessions, to expedite his timetable,” Charania reported on Monday. “He will go through his pregame warmups with the plan to play. For the Wolves, an unforeseen healing period over the last 24 hours that has Edwards ready for Game 1.”

Edwards was back in the Timberwolves’ lineup for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. Edwards started the game on the bench, as head coach Chris Finch said the four-time All-Star guard “will be on a minutes restriction,” per Jon Krawcyznski.

Victor Wembanyama and the second-seeded Spurs are heavy favorites over the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, but the Wolves have proven over the past two years that doubting them is unwise. Minnesota has reached the Western Conference Finals in the past two seasons and was not expected to do so in either year.

Regardless of the result, it will be fun to watch four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert matched up against Wemby, recently voted the NBA’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, and Edwards adds juice to any game he plays.

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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 7:15 PM.