Chris Finch isn’t buying the criticism aimed at Anthony Edwards for walking over to shake hands with the San Antonio Spurs before Game 6 was even out of reach.
Minnesota’s season ended in the Western Conference Semifinals, with the Spurs closing the series in six games after a lopsided Game 6. With the Timberwolves down 128-95 and 8:01 still left in the fourth quarter, Edwards decided to head over and dap up Spurs players and coaches during a timeout. The move sparked debate, and voices like Dirk Nowitzki and Udonis Haslem weren’t fans of it.
Finch, though, saw something different. On the Road Trippin’ Show, the Timberwolves coach said the moment has been widely misunderstood.
“I think it’s probably one of the more misunderstood things that actually has happened,” Finch said. “… I saw him walk down there.
And then when he came back, I said, ‘You’re not going to the locker room, are you?’ … ‘Cause that would have been a bad look.
He goes, ‘Hell no, coach. I’m staying out here for my guys.’
… When the buzzer sounded, he wanted to go, ’cause he’s disappointed.
“And what he went through to get back and play in that series is admirable,” Finch added. “I mean, we’re in awe of what he was able to do.”
That part matters, because Edwards’ presence in the series was never supposed to happen so quickly. He had suffered a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee in Game 4 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, and he was already dealing with inflammation in his right knee.
The expectation was that he’d be out for multiple weeks. Instead, the 25-year-old somehow made it back in just over a week for Game 1 against San Antonio.
That return gave the Timberwolves a shot. They even tied the series at 2-2. But the Spurs slammed the door from there, taking Games 5 and 6 in convincing fashion.
Edwards later explained his thinking, first briefly after the game and then more fully on his YouTube channel. His version was simple: Minnesota wasn’t coming back, and he wasn’t interested in hanging around for the postgame scene.
“I mean, there was no reason why,” Edwards said. “I feel like everybody just has their own opinion.
Yeah, it was eight minutes left in the game, but we weren’t coming back. When you win a playoff series, everybody’s celebrating at the end of the game.
They’re going to be smiling while I’m pissed off that we just lost.
“So I was like, let me go congratulate these boys because I ain’t trying to be kicking it with y’all after y’all just whooped my a**,” Edwards continued. “I didn’t want to go dap them up after the game at all. Then people would’ve had a whole different conversation about me.
“So I gave them n****s the respect they deserved,” Edwards added. “I could’ve waited until the end of the game.
That’s other people’s perspective. But yeah, I did what I did.
That’s why I’m me, and y’all are whoever y’all are. It’s just that simple.”
Nowitzki said he had never seen anything like it in all his years around the NBA, while Haslem said he would never have handled it that way as a leader and pointed out that Victor Wembanyama likely wouldn’t have done the same if the roles were reversed. Still, Finch’s stance and Edwards’ own explanation make the picture pretty clear: he wasn’t heading for the locker room, he wasn’t trying to duck the moment, and he wasn’t interested in getting stuck with a different kind of criticism after the final buzzer.
The loss leaves Edwards without an NBA championship or a trip to the NBA Finals so far in his career. Minnesota has already made a move to try to help him chase that next step, acquiring LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets this offseason.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards No Longer Has To Carry The Wolves This Way
The Timberwolves finally have a clearer path for Anthony Edwards, and it starts with LaMelo Ball taking over the lead-guard duties. For a team that spent stretches asking Edwards to do a little bit of everything, the fit now looks cleaner: Ball can organize the offense, Edwards can settle into more of a natural scoring role, and Chris Finch believes the whole group benefits when the backcourt is defined that way.
Finch has made no secret that the new setup should streamline Minnesotas offense and make life easier for the players around its stars. The interesting part is how quickly that adjustment could ripple beyond the headline names, because Balls presence changes more than just where Edwards catches the ball. It gives the Wolves a different shape, a better flow, and a chance to see how much more efficient this group can be when the pieces stop overlapping so much. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Finch Just Sent A Powerful Message About Anthony Edwards
Chris Finch is still thinking about the way he handled Anthony Edwards after Game 1 of the Timberwolves 2025 semifinals series against the Warriors. On The Road Trippin' podcast, the Minnesota coach admitted he regretted criticizing his star guard in public, saying the call-out was unnecessary. It was a revealing moment from a coach who has usually leaned on trust and candor with his best player, and it said as much about Finchs standards as it did about the growing responsibility Edwards carries for this team.
Finch also made clear the relationship between the two remains strong, which matters for a Wolves group that has continued to build around Edwards rise as both a scorer and a leader. The more interesting part now is how naturally Edwards handled the response, turning it into a productive stretch for the rest of the series and reinforcing why Finch views him as more than just a talented young star. In a season where Minnesotas ceiling depends so heavily on Edwards growth, even a moment of friction seemed to underline how far he has come. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Interest In Jonathan Kuminga Just Hit A Serious Roadblock
Jonathan Kumingas market is starting to sort itself out, and from the Timberwolves perspective, the numbers have already done most of the talking. The Lakers have reportedly put together a sign-and-trade framework worth around $45 million, while other suitors have begun to pivot or narrow their focus elsewhere. Minnesota, along with Sacramento, has been interested, but only at a price point that reflects a much smaller commitment than Kuminga is likely looking for.
That leaves the Wolves in a familiar kind of bind: interested enough to monitor the situation, but not aggressive enough to move the needle on a player with real upside. Kuminga is not viewed as a veteran-minimum add-on, and he is not eager to settle for a short-term bargain deal while better offers are taking shape elsewhere. For Minnesota, the question is no longer whether he is on the radar, but whether there is any realistic path to getting him without outbidding the very market that has now made the roadblock obvious. [Read more 🡒]