The Minnesota Timberwolves will have their biggest star back on the court in the Big Apple Wednesday night. Three-time All-Star guard Anthony Edwards has been cleared to play against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
Edwards will make his return to the lineup from a right hamstring strain that cost him the past four games.
“Arena and stage aside, I think it’s more he’s itching to play,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said pregame.
“One thing we love about Ant, he plays. He’s played in 95% of the games in his career, I would imagine. He wants to play no matter where that is.”
Edwards suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the Wolves’ home opener on Oct. 26. It wasn’t long before the team ruled him out with hamstring tightness, although Minnesota went on to hold off the Indiana Pacers in the Target Center.
The next day, the Timberwolves announced that Edwards was dealing with a hamstring strain and would be re-evaluated in a week. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported at the time that Edwards was expected to miss two weeks with the injury.
Turns out, he’s ahead of schedule.
In Edwards’ absence, Minnesota dropped home games to the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers before bouncing back with consecutive road victories over the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets.
Edwards kicked off the season with a 41-point performance in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers. He then scored 31 points in a road defeat to the Lakers, however, he grabbed at his hamstring a few times in that game, according to The Athletics Jon Krawczynski.
Edward’s hamstring issue ultimately pressed pause on his sixth season in the NBA, which is his second on a five-year max extension, but now he’s back in the fold.
Last season, he averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game, the fifth most of any player in the league in 2024-25, while spearheading Minnesota’s second straight run to the Western Conference finals.