Anthony Edwards is all in on the NBA Cup. Well, kind of. After dropping 37 points in a blowout win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night, the Timberwolves star spoke about his team’s mindset heading into the tournament and admitted he’s still not quite sure how the whole thing works.
“Every year. Yeah, sure,” Edwards said when asked if the team’s motivation to win the Cup has grown. “Julius brought us together a couple of practices ago and was like, man, let’s try to win this year.”
While Edwards is clearly on board with the idea of chasing the first-ever in-season title, he admitted the format still has him a little lost.
“We didn’t really understand the rules and stuff but… I still don’t understand the rules,” he added. “I really don’t care, but I think just winning the games means more than anything.”
Julius Randle brought teammates together to make a united attempt at the NBA Cup championship, but the results are still ongoing. While Minnesota has the talent, it remains to be seen if they have the focus and patience required to get the job done. At the very least, they have a capable star in Anthony Edwards who is committed to the cause.
Edwards may not entirely know what he’s playing for, but he’s chasing these wins nonetheless. In this case, you can’t really blame the young star, given that the NBA Cup is still a new event on the basketball calendar.
The NBA Cup, also known as the In-Season Tournament, features all 30 teams split into six groups of five. Each team plays four group-stage games, and the top eight teams advance to the knockout rounds. From there, it’s single elimination until a champion is crowned. All tournament games except the championship count toward regular-season standings, and the winning team splits a $500,000 prize per player.
The Timberwolves, part of West Group A, just played their first tournament game of the season on Friday, but it’s only the first step in securing the prize and making franchise history.
If they want to win and bring glory to Minnesota, the Wolves will need to lock in from now through at least December, with a particular focus on the weekly NBA Cup games.
For Edwards, while all the details may go over his head, his goal remains the same: win at any cost. With averages of 25.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game this season, he’s already playing at an elite level, and the Timberwolves have shown flashes of greatness.
All that’s left is to stay consistent throughout the season and deliver on the court when it counts the most. While a traditional championship is the ultimate prize for Edwards, he’s going to take the NBA Cup very seriously moving forward, and that’s a scary development for the rest of the league.
If Edwards is locked in, the rest of the team will follow. He’s the engine behind everything Minnesota does, and his hunger to win, even in a tournament he barely understands, says everything you need to know about where his mindset is this season. The Wolves believe they can win it all, and with Edwards leading the charge, they just might.
