Wolves rookie Edwards goes viral with thundering dunk

President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has a vision for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After making big changes to the Wolves’ roster at the 2019-20 trade deadline, Rosas has surrounded All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell with a core of promising young talent.

Each Thursday, we’ll be tracking the progress of these young players while also keeping up with the G League Iowa Wolves to see who will rise to the challenge of bringing a consistent, winning team to Minnesota.

This is the 4th edition of the 2020-21 Young Wolves Tracker.

SPOTLIGHT ON …

Anthony Edwards

Just about one month into his NBA career, Minnesota top pick Edwards already has a signature NBA moment.

The dunk.

Late in the first quarter during a clash with Golden State on Monday night, Edwards caught a pass from teammate Jaden McDaniels on top of the arc. Seeing an opening in front of him on the floor, Edwards dribbled the ball twice before launching himself into the air and hammering it down.

All the Warriors could do is 1) get out of the way and 2) watch him fly.

.@theantedwards_ just did WHAT!?!?

The kid is a problem 🐜🐜🐜 pic.twitter.com/7Z3d2PtKyv

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) January 26, 2021

Wolves analyst Jim Petersen called it one of the best dunks in the 32-year history of the Timberwolves franchise. He’s not wrong.

It was a pivotal moment for the rookie, who finally busted out of his first career slump. From Jan. 10-22, Edwards played five games and averaged just 5.4 points per contest while shooting 19.6% from the field.

Edwards found his stroke again Saturday in the Timberwolves’ 120-110 win over New Orleans, leading the bench with 18 points while nailing a career-high six free-throw attempts.

After scoring 15 points vs. Golden State – two of those points being his monster dunk in the first quarter – on Monday, Edwards bested his effort with 25 on Wednesday night. The top pick drained 9 for 19 attempts from the field (47.4%) and 5 of 8 from downtown (62.5%). It was Edwards’ second career game with 20+ points, one shy of his career-high 26.

The 19-year old continues to grow.

WOLF TRACKS

— Point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who is on a two-way contract and was featured in this week’s episode of Wolves+, has played 20+ minutes in four of the past five games. He poured in a season-high 15 points against Golden State on Monday on 7-of-12 shooting.

— Also setting a season high in points was Naz Reid, who posted 20 in Saturday’s win over New Orleans. Reid nailed two 3-pointers and went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Reid racked up a career-high five blocks against the Warriors on Wednesday, the most blocks by a Wolves player since Karl-Anthony Towns stuffed five shots Dec. 31, 2018.

— Josh Okogie is in a bit of a slump. Over the last three contests, Okogie is averaging 4.0 points per game on 20% shooting from the field and 11.1% from downtown (1 of 9).

— Ashton Hagans, another two-way player for the Wolves, played in his first two career games this week. Hagans made his debut Monday with 2:27 on the floor, and he played the final 1:37 in Wednesday’s loss to Golden State. Hagans has yet to attempt a shot.