Anthony Edwards built the most efficient shooting season of his career last season, scoring 28.8 points a game on a career-best true shooting mark, then missed 21 games doing it. Three preseason games into this fall, with a new backcourt around him, he already carries a rest designation of his own.
The Efficiency Case
Edwards averaged 28.8 points on 48.9 percent shooting last season, adding 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists while carrying a 30.9 percent usage rate, the heaviest workload on Minnesota's roster. His true shooting mark climbed to 61.7 percent, his offensive rating to 117.8, and his three-point accuracy to 39.9 percent on a career-high 8.4 attempts a night. Those are the shooting numbers of a 25-year-old entering his prime, now paired in the backcourt with LaMelo Ball instead of the frontcourt mix that surrounded him a year ago.
Twenty-One Missing Games
The volume came in only 61 of a possible 82 games last season, the largest absence on Minnesota's returning core. Edwards is already listed day-to-day with a rest designation as of October 10, one of six Timberwolves named on that report, after preseason games against the Bucks, Pacers and Heat produced a 2-1 start. Twenty-one missed games a year ago is not a small number for a 25-year-old still building toward his physical peak, and staying on the floor, more than any shot he takes, is the open question hanging over his season.
What $48.9 Million Buys
Edwards is signed through 2028-29, earning $48.9 million this season, $52.3 million next and $55.7 million in the final year, the biggest contract on Minnesota's books. The numbers around his scoring stayed modest, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.9 turnovers a night, and his defensive rating of 114.3 traded some ground for all that offense. Even so, the Timberwolves were a plus-3.5 team with him on the floor. Minnesota did not sign him to get better. It signed him to be out there, every night, for a roster retooled to finally get past the conference semifinals.
How many games did Anthony Edwards play last season?
Edwards played 61 of the Timberwolves' 82 games last season, averaging 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists with a 61.7 percent true shooting mark.
What is Anthony Edwards' contract with the Timberwolves?
Edwards earns $48.9 million in 2026-27, then $52.3 million and $55.7 million over the following two seasons, the largest contract on Minnesota's roster.
