Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves were knocked out of the 2026 NBA playoffs last night following a humbling 109-139 defeat to the Spurs in Game 6 of their Western semifinals series. The Spurs did not take their foot off the gas pedal ever since tip-off, led by 37 points at one point in the game, and did not give up the lead even once throughout the night.
They were leading by 33 points (128-95) with 8:01 left in the fourth quarter when the Timberwolves waved the white flag. But they had a unique way of conceding defeat with the season on the line. Anthony Edwards went over to the Spurs bench and dapped up everyone with more than two-thirds of the final quarter still left to play, as though he and the Timberwolves had given up and conceded defeat.
Anthony Edwards went to the Spurs’ bench to congratulate them on winning the series with 8 minutes to go.pic.twitter.com/5HLhHi9GmB
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 16, 2026
Even though this left a sour taste in experts’ mouths, like Dirk Nowitzki and Udonis Haslem, Edwards had his own reasoning. Following the loss, the 24-year-old star player spoke at the press conference and addressed the viral moment.
“At that point, you know you ain’t going back in, so you’re just trying to get them the respect that they deserve,” said Edwards. ‘
Edwards struggled to find his offensive rhythm tonight, despite leading all scorers for the Timberwolves, which shows the impact of Victor Wembanyama’s defense. He ended the game with 24 points, two rebounds, two assists, and three steals while shooting 9-26 from the field (34.6 FG%), 2-7 from the three-point line (28.5 3P%), and 4-7 from the free-throw line.
The Spurs, despite being on the road for Game 6, punched the Timberwolves in the mouth right from tip-off and kept up their persistent pressure to avoid any comeback from the Timberwolves.
Stephon Castle led all scorers from the Spurs with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while shooting 11-16 from the field (68.8 FG%) and 5-7 from beyond the arc (71.4 3P%). After the win, Castle also reacted to this gesture from Edwards.
“I’ve never seen that before. But it was cool. We were competing throughout the series, so for him to come over there and show that kind of respect, it was definitely cool,” said Castle.
Indeed, it was a bit surprising to see Edwards wave the white flag with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. While it was a bit realistic to feel that if the Timberwolves could not overcome the deficit in the first three quarters, there was not a lot of probability that they would pull off a miracle in the fourth.
No team in NBA history has overcome a 30-point+ deficit in the fourth quarter. So realistically, we can’t blame Edwards for giving up on his team; it is a sign of sportsmanship to concede defeat when you know you have lost.
But let’s see how the media shapes the narrative of this impact of this decision, as experts were certainly not happy with what it meant for the competitive nature of the sport.
