Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards has changed his free-throw routine this season, and Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban is the reason why. During an appearance on the Road Trippin’ Show in the offseason, Cuban criticized officials for letting Edwards get away with stepping over the line every single time on free throws.
Cuban’s comments on officiating may have fallen on deaf ears at points in the past, but not this time. Edwards was asked about getting rid of that step in his free-throw routine during his media session after the 119-115 win over the Boston Celtics at Target Center on Saturday, and he revealed he was told he could no longer do it.
“Some famous guy went on Instagram or went on a podcast and was talking about my free throws, and he brought it to the attention of everybody, so I had to change it,” Edwards said. “… The refs be like, ‘You can’t step over the line.’ So I had to change my whole thing. I think it was the dude who used to be the owner of the Mavs.”
Cuban might take a mini victory lap for this. Complaining about free throws is something he sure loves to do. Cuban once revealed that the Mavericks had spoken to the NBA about Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo taking more than 10 seconds to shoot free throws. Antetokounmpo still took up to 12 seconds when the teams faced off afterward and wasn’t called for a violation, much to his frustration.
Cuban didn’t succeed there, but he has here. Edwards admitted he is still getting used to the change in the routine. He added that it has been hard to make the change, but feels it shouldn’t be the case, considering he shoots around 200 free throws a day in the gym.
“I started working on it over the summer, trying to get used to it,” Edwards stated. “… After [Cuban] did what he did this summer, a bunch of dudes was texting me like, ‘Bro you gotta change this ’cause they gonna start doing it.’ Coach [Tom] Crean texted me about it. So, I was like, I just gotta change my free throw routine.”
There had actually been a little bit of a dip in Edwards’ free-throw shooting this season as well, coming into this game against the Celtics. The 24-year-old was shooting 81.4% from the line after making 83.6% of his shots over the last two seasons.
We saw Edwards miss two free throws in a row in the clutch in the Timberwolves’ shocking 114-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 21. Did the changed routine have anything to do with it? Only he knows.
Edwards didn’t have those troubles against the Celtics, though, as he went 10-11 from the line. The three-time All-Star finished with 39 points (12-24 FG), two rebounds, five assists, and one block to power the Timberwolves to victory. Edwards also hit the dagger three-pointer on the night and was very much at his destructive best.
The Timberwolves snapped their three-game losing streak with this win here and improved to 11-8 on the season. This was also their first win against a team that is over .500, and they need to start getting more of these if they are to climb up the standings.
The Timberwolves are in action next against the San Antonio Spurs at Target Center on Sunday at 7 PM ET.
