The Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards had a disappointing end to their season after getting eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Two consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances heading into this past season saw hopes for true title contention end at the hands of a young team. Edwards used some of the bitterness from his loss to help former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
An appearance at Fanatics Fest saw Edwards reveal that he gave tips to Towns and helped the New York Knicks defeat the Spurs in the NBA Finals:
“I was turned up. It may have been like three in the morning when [Towns] FaceTimed me after the game. But yeah, I was talking to him before every game, because we play San Antonio. So you know, just give him little tips and stuff on which players like to go which way and stuff about Wemby. So yeah, I gave him a little cheat code, and he passed the test, so shoutout KAT.”
Edwards and Towns have a strong friendship after playing many seasons together as the faces of the Timberwolves franchise. Minnesota getting too cheap at the wrong time to trade Towns for Randle ended up hurting them, but Edwards still wanted to help KAT against a team they both faced. Towns became an NBA Champion after using all of Ant’s advice.
Why Anthony Edwards May Have Started Rivalry
San Antonio loves to use anything that opposing players and teams do as fuel to play against them. Victor Wembanyama basically started a Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder rivalry on his own due to everyone viewing the latter as the class of the West.
A player like Wemby makes it clear that he sees and hears everything around the league. Another star giving tips to his NBA Finals opponent is likely going to rub Wembanyama and some other Spurs players the wrong way.
Few instances across the league will see any active player admitting that he gave advice to a team he didn’t play for to help them win. Towns most likely shared all tips given to him from Edwards with Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and the rest of the Knicks as they pulled off the miracle run to capture their first title in over five decades.
Anthony Edwards Rewarded KAT’s Friendship
Edwards entered the NBA as a top overall draft pick with a world of pressure on him. Towns was the veteran on the Timberwolves roster who was a former top pick himself and made sure to help him learn the NBA tips needed to succeed.
Despite the big trade, Edwards and Towns remained close friends throughout the years. The duo even joked around about getting to face off head to head in this past season’s new All-Star Game format of USA vs The World.
Minnesota must find a way to reach the NBA Finals after trading away Edwards’ best teammate ever and seeing him win a ring. LaMelo Ball is currently a big offseason acquisition, and it must work out for the team to succeed. Edwards could cite the team’s former mistakes and start to look at other options if they fail.
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