The Minnesota Timberwolves have been on an impressive run over the last several weeks. Although they won a modest 49 games during the regular season, they won 17 of their last 21 contests, and they breezed through the first round of the playoffs in just 10 games.
They were considered underdogs by plenty of people in both of their first two playoff series. But they have made it to the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and even though they lost Game 1, 114-88, superstar Anthony Edwards remains optimistic about their chances.
However, the NBA announced on Wednesday that Edwards was fined $50,000 for "using profane language during a media interview" following Game 1 on Tuesday.
Edwards used profanity when talking about what he needed to do better moving forward.
"I definitely gotta shoot more," he said. "I only took 13 [expletive] shots. I say probably just get off the ball a little more, play without the ball."
Edwards hit only five of those shot attempts and scored an anemic 18 points. As a team, Minnesota shot a frigid 34.9% from the field and committed 19 turnovers, and it didn't score a single fast-break point in all of Game 1.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) in the fourth quarter during game one of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
He is one of the NBA's brightest and most exciting young superstars, but he still has lots of room for growth when it comes to being consistent with his offensive production and following up a great performance with another strong game.
This isn't the first time Edwards was fined in this year's playoffs. During the first round, he was fined $50,000 for what was termed "directing inappropriate language and making an obscene gesture toward a fan" by the league.