Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards needs an arthroscopic procedure to alleviate issues with his right knee and will miss several weeks, a person with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Timberwolves had yet to make any public announcements of Edwards’ plan to have the operation. A more precise timetable for Edwards' return will be known after surgery, the person said.
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Edwards had been listed on recent injury reports with a right knee issue. Periodic knee pain has dogged him for some time, though the specifics of the current problem were not clear. The Timberwolves had listed him as questionable for their game against Golden State on Wednesday, before the decision was evidently made to go forward with the surgery.
Edwards was off to a flying start this season, averaging 33.3 points and leading Minnesota to three wins in its first four games. He scored 45 points in the season-opening win at Miami, then had 47 points in a loss to Cleveland on Monday night. His 133 points through the first four games is a Timberwolves record, breaking the old mark of 120 — set by him two seasons ago.
But there were some signs that all was not right. Edwards had a two-handed transition dunk late in the first half of Minnesota's win over Toronto on Sunday, seemed to head down to the defensive end very gingerly after that play, then spent the next Timberwolves offensive possession standing in the right corner and squeezing his knee for a few seconds.
If he is out for two months, that would mean he remains sidelined until around Christmas — when Minnesota plays an Oklahoma City team that also has major injury concerns. The Thunder lost Jalen Williams (leg, ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) earlier this week; both will have surgery that could be season-ending.
A two-month absence would also sideline Edwards for around 25 games, meaning he would again fall short of the NBA's 65-game threshold for end-of-season awards like the All-NBA team and MVP.
Edwards was limited to 61 games last season, mostly because of knee-related issues. It was the first season in which he missed any significant time; Edwards missed 19 out of a possible 400 games in his first five NBA seasons.
The four-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA pick and member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the Paris Games has averaged 24.6 points in his career. Since Edwards entered the league, only the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Miami’s Giannis Antetokounmpo have scored more points than the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
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