MINNEAPOLIS — In a crestfallen visitor’s locker room at Madison Square Garden earlier this week, Julius Randle delivered a quiet but urgent message to Anthony Edwards.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star had just returned from a four-game absence due to a strained right hamstring and tried to gently reintroduce himself into the starting lineup for a group that had won two straight games. He took only five shots in the first half and was a minus-25 in 29 minutes.
The Wolves were shredded in the second half, outscored 83-56, dropping their defensive rating to 27th in the league. So Randle approached Edwards to let him know what was needed.
This is your team. No more deferring.
It took Edwards 90 seconds against Utah on Friday night to show he got the message. He hit two 3-pointers, knocked down a Kobe-like turnaround jumper and blocked a layup by Isaiah Collier at the rim during a ferocious start.
HE’S ON FIRE. 🐜 pic.twitter.com/VLya6lV7RU
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 8, 2025
As Edwards imposed his will, the Timberwolves’ vibe soared. They needed a jolt, and Edwards delivered it. They outscored the Jazz 43-15 in the first quarter, led by as many as 44 points in the game and breezed to a 137-97 victory in their first NBA Cup game of the season. Edwards scored 29 of his 37 points in the first half, went 7-for-12 from 3-point range and grabbed five rebounds as well.
“We’re only going as far as he takes us,” Randle said after that Knicks game. “We gotta help him get back in with him and get back in the flow with everything.”
This team is perfectly suited for Edwards to take on that role. Randle has morphed beautifully into a top-flight wing man, as capable of making plays for others as he is for himself. McDaniels is blossoming as a true offensive weapon, ideally suited to capitalize on the attention Edwards attracts from the defense. Donte DiVincenzo is off to a great start from 3-point range, even with a broken nose.
Now that Edwards has shaken the rust off from his absence, he can do the galvanizing that needs to be done.
This is what stars do. This is what leaders do. This is who Edwards, in his sixth season, has become. On a team filled with quieter personalities, Edwards is the blue flame that lights the water heater. Target Center is never louder than when Edwards is rolling. The Wolves are never more dangerous than when Edwards is on the hunt.
During that opening flurry, 18-year NBA veteran Kevin Love was watching from the Jazz bench.
“I looked at the rest of the guys and said we’re in for a long night,” Love said.
The Timberwolves have been sleepwalking through the first eight games of the season, looking nothing like the intense, gritty, defensive-minded team that has reached back-to-back Western Conference finals. They were ranked 27th in the NBA in defensive rating, inexcusable for a team of their defensive talent, continuity and ambition to contend for a title.
The sludge has been most visible on defense, but it has seeped onto the offensive end as well, particularly when the Wolves have faced stiffer competition. There have been moments of crisp offense in all four of their losses, but also long bouts of stagnant, one- or no-pass possessions filled with turnovers.
The malaise also dampened the team’s energy. They weren’t hustling after rebounds with the same hunger they had last season. They weren’t closing out on shooters in the corner with the same effort. They weren’t jumping on opponents and keeping them down. DiVincenzo said after the Knicks’ loss that the defensive issues were rooted in a lack of spirit and energy.
Edwards sensed it. In a video posted by the Timberwolves social team Friday, he urged the team — his team — to stay together during times of adversity. He implored them not to go into silos, but to lean into each other, cheer for one another and support each other.
“We can’t say we’re about winning and then when we hit the wall, everybody wanna, ‘I’m gonna do ISO … That’s super important,” he told them. “We gotta stay locked in.”
stay locked in.
Track The Pack » https://t.co/dtJh5mY9rg pic.twitter.com/583td7avXl
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 7, 2025
“It’s not going to be everybody’s night every night,” Edwards said after the Jazz win. “Just being able to sit on that bench and cheer on your team when you’re not in the game and you don’t got it going, I think that’s what brings championship vibes and a championship mindset.”
This has always been Edwards’ superpower. Yes, he can jump out of the gym. Yes, he led the NBA in 3-pointers made last season. But what has allowed him to become the kind of player that can lift an entire franchise is the emotional intelligence that is sometimes hidden under all of that Atlanta swag.
He doesn’t need a stethoscope to hear his team’s heartbeat. His fingers are always on the pulse. That is how he gets his teammates to follow him. That is how he commands a room.
“He’s our leading light, and he’s got to be aggressive, and he’s got to be himself,” Finch said. “That’s what we need. And I thought he played quick and clean. Thought we all did to start the game, and it was just really good, really fun to watch.”
Randle had 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, coming just one rebound shy of a triple-double in the first half. He was a plus-43 in 26 minutes. Jaden McDaniels had 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals, including a rip-and-dunk to start the game.
steal and slam to start us off. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0huQ0JMnI4
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 8, 2025
Most importantly, the Timberwolves held an opponent under 100 points for the first time this season. That has become almost expected over the last two years, but was absent to start this season. The Jazz shot 37.2 percent, 23.1 percent from 3, and turned the ball over 17 times.
“That’s what I love to see, just defense, all of us engaged, talking, active, in the gaps,” Randle said.
All the caveats apply to this performance. The Jazz are a young, rebuilding team, not a Western Conference contender. They just lost center Walker Kessler for the season to a shoulder injury. They were playing the last game of a five-game road trip, so they were on rubbery legs and looked like they wanted to get home.
That said, the Wolves did what a veteran-laden team should do in that kind of scenario, and something they have not really done all season before Friday night. They have beaten Portland, Indiana, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Utah this season, with the season-opening win on the road against the Trail Blazers the only one that qualifies as a quality win.
Even a few of their cupcake wins were less than impressive. Minnesota led by only three over Brooklyn after three quarters before pulling away in the fourth, and the Wolves had to hang on to edge the injury-ravaged Pacers in their home opener 114-110.
The Timberwolves needed to smash somebody, and Edwards knew it. He hustled into the backcourt on defense to get steals. He attacked in transition for easy buckets. He never let the Jazz think, even for a second, that they had a chance in this game.
“I’ve been out for like a week, so first game back, of course, going to be iffy,” Edwards said. “But yeah, just trying to get back to myself.”
The quickest way out of the doldrums is for Edwards to grab these Wolves by the scruff of their necks and pull them out of it. They have games at Sacramento and Utah and then a home game against the Kings before their next real test — the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 15. Eventually, they’re going to have to show the same heart and toughness against a contender. But this was a step in the right direction.
As the Wolves starters watched the final 10 minutes from the bench, they did so with wide smiles and an enthusiasm that has been missing for much of the season. They jumped out of their seats when rookie Joan Beringer threw down a big dunk. They roared when Rob Dillingham scored on a flashy drive. They stood and applauded Leonard Miller’s tenacity on the glass.
They looked more engaged than they have been all year. That is exactly what Randle was hoping for when he spoke with Edwards in New York.
“It just brings energy. There’s a certain confidence we have as a group,” Randle said. “When he does stuff like that, the game seems to unfold the right way. Everybody’s in rhythm and all that stuff. It was good.”