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Timberwolves React to Franchise Player’s Dunk of the Year

Minnesota Timberwolves bench reacts to Anthony Edwards dunk

Facing the Utah Jazz for the second straight game on Monday, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had the dunk of the night. Maybe even the year.

Timberwolves React to Anthony Edwards’ Dunk of the Year

Here’s the play.

Corralling a loose ball after Nickeil Alexander-Walker forced Jazz rookie Keyonte George into a turnover, Edwards passed the ball ahead to Alexander-Walker before crossing halfcourt. With Edwards filling the lane in transition, Alexander-Walker passed the ball back to the two-time All-Star. As he launched himself from the key, John Collins found himself in-between Edwards and the rim. Reaching his arm back for the tomahawk slam, Edwards powered through Collins for the poster slam.

In the pandemonium that followed, the most memorable reaction may have come from teammate Kyle Anderson.

The Man of the Hour

Following the game Edwards was shown a video of the dunk. He was clearly a fan. In fact, the 22-year-old believes it was the best of his career.

“H*** yeah,” Edwards says, per the Star Tribune’s Chris Hines. “What you think? Hell yeah. That was better than the Toronto one, hell yeah. Because the Toronto one, everybody expected me to dunk on him. This one was crazy.”

(Here’s a video of his poster dunk against the Toronto Raptors, for reference and for posterity.)

A closer replay showed that Edwards had barely made it to the rim, his forward momentum impeded by Collins. The Georgia native ended up dislocating his finger on the play, so he did make it there. But just barely.

“I was thinking I was gonna miss it because I wasn’t close to the rim, but somehow God willed it in for me.”

“It gives me chills, man,” Edwards continues.

It’s the type of play that gets fans out of their seats. More than that, it’s the type of play that makes fans out of kids and adults alike. Indeed, in discussing what the dunk meant to him, Edwards recalled the posters that he saw in his childhood.

“… I always dreamed of dunking on somebody like that and watching Vince Carter jump over somebody or like watching [Tracy McGrady],” Edwards says. I always dreamed of dunking on somebody like that and that was like my favorite one of all time.”

The Man Behind the Curtain

Alexander-Walker, who made the pass, doesn’t believe fans fully grasp how difficult Edwards’ dunk was.

“I don’t think people honestly understand what they’ve just seen,” he says. “…Walk to a free-throw line, take a step and just try to grab the mesh and then you’ll understand what the h*** he just did. That was probably the craziest thing I’ve ever witnessed by far.”

“I’m gonna tell my kids [that] I passed it,” he continues. “That’s my assist. I can really be like, ‘Oh I was about to shoot it, but I turned it down.’ … What he did, bro, he got me going…”

It got Edwards going too. Up to that point he had only scored nine points against the Jazz. He scored 23 points after his dunk, which took place with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Elder Statesman

Outside of Edward’s own reaction, elder statesman Mike Conley may have had the best quote regarding the play. Taking a big picture view of that poster, Conley breaks down what makes Edwards an excellent finisher.

“The things he can do, above the rim, below the rim, his strength as a basketball player,” he begins. “When you see him jump like that, a lot of people don’t continue to go higher. They don’t continue to go forward. They get bumped and they kind of push back.

“He’s like a cat almost,” considers Conley. “He keeps going forward [and] lands on his feet. Stuff like that is what makes him who he is and why he can maneuver in the game how he does.”

As impressed by Edwards returning to the court after dislocating his finger on the play as he was with the dunk, Conley continues to praise the Timberwolves’ franchise player, saying, “that’s what a leader does, man.”

“He won me over again tonight not just the dunk, but dislocating his finger, going back there taping it up, finishing the game how he did. Those are stories I’ll be telling people when I’m old and gray.

“He’s putting his team on his back,” Conley says. “He’s putting us first… putting his health aside and saying hey, it’s an important stretch for us. We need to get these wins. We need to get some confidence building up into the playoffs. Just get more and more respect.

“I’m his biggest fan,” the 36-year-old professes.

Conley isn’t the only one making that claim. Especially after last night.

Quenton S. Albertie

Quenton S. Albertie

Quenton Albertie, a native of Ft. Hood, TX, is a credentialed media member with work featured on SLAM Magazine, Sports Illustrated, USA TODAY and other major publications. Currently residing in Atlanta, GA, Albertie’s favorite teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Broncos.

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