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Anthony Edwards has right mindset, but it underscores NBA's All-Star issue

Edwards isn't 'an All-Star Game type of guy' instead he'll 'save it for the Timberwolves season.'

Nolan O'Hara

Kenny's Young Stars guard Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves during introductions before the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Feb. 16, 2025.
Kenny's Young Stars guard Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves during introductions before the NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center in San Francisco on Feb. 16, 2025. / Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images
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The NBA urged players to take All-Star Weekend more seriously and hoped a new format would increase interest, but the four-team mini tournament isn't exactly drawing rave reviews, and some star players, including Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, didn't even take the court in San Francisco. It seems consensus says the NBA didn't fix the issue.

Edwards pulled out last minute due to a groin injury, joining LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers as players who did not participate in the weekend festivities. The NBA has been urging players to take the weekend seriously after years of games finishing with sky-high scores, like when the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 last year.

Shaq's OG's won the inaugural All-Star tournament, but fans didn't walk away from watching the event too thrilled.

From a player perspective, the All-Star game just doesn't really matter. For players like Edwards and James who are banged up, there's no sense in participating in the game if it can cause a setback. For healthy players, it's not worth going all out and risk injury in a meaningless contest. Players don't give their best efforts for activities like the skills challenge. When Edwards competed in the skills challenge last year, he drew criticism for shooting left-handed during the event.

"I've never been an All-Star Game type of guy to like take it serious and go out there and try to guard somebody and get a stop," Edwards told the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds at this year's All-Star Weekend. "I've never been that type of guy.

"I just save it for the Timberwolves season, pretty much."

The NBA had a different kind of issue with the skills challenge this year when San Antonio Spurs teammates Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama came up with a loophole to get through the event quicker; instead of actually shooting the shots — the rule is make one or shoot three — Paul and Wembanyama just threw the balls off the racks, reaching the three-shot requirement, to cut down on time. The NBA wasn't too keen on their clever idea, and they were disqualified from the event.

The NBA even turned away the TNT sideline reporter who attempted to interview the duo after the challenge.

And then when it came to the meat and potatoes of the whole weekend, the actual games themselves, the event really seemed to be a flop. Some of the players felt the tournament was a step in the right direction, but fans on social media lamented the lengthy commercial breaks and limited basketball actually played. In the tournament format, the first team to score 40 points wins, and that resulted in the actual basketball being played on the court going by pretty quickly.

"The games are kind of short," New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson told the Associated Press. "I like the format. It's something new, something unique. Maybe score to 50, maybe. ... You never really know what to expect, but it was all right."

Fans don't particularly find the All-Star Game, or the weekend as a whole, compelling anymore. Even events that should still be exciting — like the dunk contest — don't draw recognizable names. Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung, who's on a two-way contract and has played only five NBA games in his career, including one this season, won his third straight dunk contest. McClung is incredible, no doubt, but it's just not the same as Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon going head to head.

Frankly, most players have Edwards' mentality about the weekend, and it's the right mindset to have. It's a secondary event that, while it should be fun, ultimately doesn't matter. The NBA will need to get more creative to make it a draw again.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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