Anthony Edwards’ Injury “Ruined” the League, Says NBA Champion & Ex-Timberwolves Player

Last April, Anthony Edwards sat out Game 6 of the Timberwolves' first-round series with a knee injury. A teammate closed out the Nuggets with 32 points and 10 rebounds without him. Minnesota survived that night. Now the knee has caught up with him in a much bigger way, and a former teammate says the damage goes beyond the Timberwolves.

"I think this just ruined the league… This was the most exciting team in the NBA, he was playing some of the best basketball of his career," Jeff Teague said on the "Club 520" podcast with Mook, discussing Edwards' knee surgery and the Wolves' outlook.

Teague, a 2021 NBA champion with the Bucks, played for Minnesota in the Edwards era's early years, so he has seen the star up close.

The news hit on Tuesday. Edwards will miss "up to two months" after undergoing arthroscopic right knee surgery, ESPN's Shams Charania reported. The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski reported that the surgery is set for Thursday and that the Wolves hope he is back sometime in December and "fully ready to go." That makes "ruined the league" a bold claim, but it fits the way Teague describes the start to the season.

The numbers back up his point about form. Edwards averaged 33.3 points in 33.8 minutes through the first four games of the season, with Minnesota off to a 3-1 start. He had games of 45 and 47 points, and scored 47 in a 127-125 overtime loss to Cleveland on a knee that needs surgery.

The timing also affects how the Wolves viewed their team. The Timberwolves' dream of an Edwards-LaMelo Ball offensive duo, which showed real promise in the season's first four games, is now on hold.

Teague's "most exciting team" comment refers to that pairing. The Wolves nearly beat the Cavaliers on Monday, and a few days later the story changed.

The decision to operate now was deliberate. Charania said the Timberwolves and Edwards opted to address the situation now versus having it linger through the second half of the season.

The knee has been a problem for a long time. Edwards played through runner's knee in last season's playoffs, while a separate left knee injury cost him part of the first-round series against Denver. The day before the surgery was announced, coach Chris Finch said it was a "daily situation" that didn't warrant "any long-term concern."

The absence is a first for him. It will be the longest of Edwards' career, with his previous longest stretch on the sideline being six games. A two-month timeline would sideline him for about 25 games and put him on track to return in late December. NBA players have missed about six and a half weeks on average after a knee scope, so the reported window is in line with the typical recovery.

Minnesota has a plan on paper. Reports noted that LaMelo Ball must level up, and that there is another key for the Wolves to survive. The Wolves also showed in last year's playoffs that they can win without Edwards. Still, losing a player who is scoring 33 points a night is a different test than missing him for one game.

The NBA season has already been littered with bad injury news, and losing a young superstar early takes away one of its biggest draws. The Wolves still have a chance to hold their place in the West, but they will have to do it without the player who set the tone in the first week.

What happens next depends on how the knee responds. If Edwards returns in late December as planned, the Wolves could be back in form for the second half. If there is a setback, Teague's words will sound less like exaggeration and more like a prediction.