'Don't worry about me': Was Anthony Edwards sending a message to Charles Barkley?

Sir Charles might've lit a fire under the Timberwolves' superstar.

Jan 6, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrates his three-point basket against the Los Angeles Clippers late in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Maybe the key to unlocking Anthony Edwards was outside noise.

Edwards, who hasn't had to deal with a lot of negative criticism in his young career, might've been referring to Charley Barkley and the Inside the NBA crew on TNT when he stared at a sideline camera and made a remark Monday night.

"They said I fell off," Edwards shouted towards a fan during a dead ball.

Moments later, the Timberwolves captured video of Edwards staring into the camera: "Don't worry about me," Edwards repeated three times.

nah. goodnight. pic.twitter.com/8EW5dkgrKp

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 7, 2025

Who was Edwards referring to when he said "they" said he fell off?

The only logical answer is Barkley, who during the pregame show before the national TV game between the Timberwolves and Celtics last week said Edwards "has regressed."

"I actually think Anthony Edwards, in my opinion, has regressed," Barkley said. "Because he's become an outside shooter. He's not aggressive like he was last year. You can look at the numbers right there (the TNT overlay was showing Julius Randle and his season statistics) and say he's averaging 19 points (Edwards was averaging 24.8 points coming into the game).

"In my opinion, that's not a good 19 (again, actually 24.8). In my opinion."

TNT studio host Ernie Johnson asked Barkley where he thinks Edwards has regressed.

"Because he's taking too many 3s in my opinion," Barkley said. "... If you're guarding him, you want him shooting 3s because when he's getting to the basket, he's dunking on people, he's getting you in foul trouble, he's getting you in the penalty sooner."

Edwards had just 15 points in the close loss to the Celtics and afterward he lamented playing the role of a distributor when he's wired to score. That changed in a big way in the last two games as he torched the Pistons for 53 points on Saturday and then roasted the Clippers for 37 points Monday.

His 90 points is tied with Karl-Anthony Towns for the most in a two-game span in Timberwolves history.

Edwards is now tasked with keeping the fire burning while leading the Timberwolves to more wins. At 18-17, it has been a rough start for Minnesota and the schedule doesn't lighten up Tuesday when they visiting the New Orleans Hornets, who will be charged up with the return of Zion Williamson despite their 7-29 record.