Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is one of the rising faces of the NBA, but he didn’t get the star treatment from the referees in Saturday’s Game 1 against the Nuggets.
Edwards beat Denver’s Reggie Jackson to the basket and extended a Timberwolves run in the third quarter, only to have Minnesota’s momentum halted by a technical foul against the 22-year-old.
Edwards stared at Jackson behind the bucket, but that seemed to be it. He didn’t appear to say anything to Jackson, and it wasn’t even clear if Jackson was looking directly at Edwards at the time. The look lasted about three seconds as Edwards began to return to the other end of the court in the first game of the second-round series.
HOW DID ANT GET A TECHNIQUE FOR THIS BROTHER WHAT? pic.twitter.com/klQRLRjZo2
– KingCharge (@KingCharge) May 5, 2024
The former number one pick couldn’t believe the decision and spread his hands in shock. A 9-1 run had just turned a small Timberwolves deficit into a five-point road lead. The decision didn’t give the Nuggets the lead back, but it at least temporarily derailed the momentum Minnesota was building.
TNT analyst Jamal Crawford was quick to criticize officials for the call, saying, “You can’t celebrate someone for being a dog and then give them a technical for staring.” Fellow analyst Reggie Miller was equally baffled.
Jamal Crawford got that assessment of Ant Tech right: “you can’t celebrate someone for being a dog and then give them a technology to stare at.”
– Rob Pérez (@WorldWideWob) May 5, 2024
The NBA league office overturned Edwards’ technical foul on Sunday, May 5.
Anthony Edwards’ (MIN) technical foul at 1:15 of the third quarter on 5/4/24 (vs. DEN) has been overturned following league office review.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 5, 2024
The call raised questions about what kind of emotion is acceptable in a playoff game between two championship contenders. Edwards certainly didn’t believe he deserved the technique, and neither did most of the NBA community.
Weak technician!
– Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 5, 2024
The TNT broadcast openly wondered why Jamal Murray didn’t get a similar taunting call after a sequence later in the game when the Nuggets guard pointed his fingers at Karl-Anthony Towns.
?Jamal Murray hits a three to Karl Anthony Towns and then points the finger at him.
Nahh this is crazy pic.twitter.com/5GFtdngTek
-bobo (@ohitsbobo) May 5, 2024
Edwards was close to the limit for technical fouls in the regular season with 15, one away from triggering a suspension. But players get a clean slate in the playoffs and need to rack up seven to earn a one-game suspension.
Saturday’s technical foul was just a blip on Edwards’ radar, as he finished with 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting in the Timberwolves’ victory. The effort made Edwards the second player in NBA history aged 22 or younger with consecutive 40-point playoff games, joining only Kobe Bryant.
