How the 3-1 Timberwolves Get Through Up to 2 Months Without Anthony Edwards

Photo: NBA.com. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves, official NBA headshot.

Anthony Edwards scored 47 points in Cleveland on Monday night on a right knee the Timberwolves had listed as questionable that same afternoon. On Tuesday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Edwards will have an arthroscopic procedure on that knee and miss up to two months, and Chris Haynes reported a timeline of about two months. Minnesota has not announced the procedure.

By our count, two months is 27 games on the Wolves' ESPN schedule.

The knee before this week

Last season Edwards missed six games in March with soreness and inflammation in his right knee, then sat 11 of the final 14 regular-season games with more of the same, per Minnesota Sports Fan. He finished at 61 games, four short of the 65-game line for postseason awards.

In the playoffs, Edwards hyperextended his left knee in Game 4 of the first round against Denver and was diagnosed with a bone bruise, then came back for Game 1 against San Antonio on a minutes limit. After the season, Tim Connelly said: "No surgery, just some rest, don't touch a ball for a while, and I think he'll come back like he does every year, a better version of himself." Edwards said at the start of camp that he took about two months off.

On Oct. 26, Chris Finch said, "It's a daily situation, I don't think there's any long term concern," per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The next day came the reports from Charania and Haynes.

Four games in

Through four games Edwards is at 133 points, 33.3 per game, on 50-of-104 shooting (48.1%) and 18-of-45 from three (40.0%), in 33.8 minutes a night, by our count from his ESPN game log. He opened with 45 and 10 rebounds in a 131-106 win at Miami and closed with 47 on 19-of-34 in the 127-125 overtime loss at Cleveland.

Against Toronto on Sunday he winced after a second-quarter dunk, then grabbed the same knee after a collision with Immanuel Quickley with 11:20 left in the third, per Minnesota Sports Fan. He played 28 minutes in a 117-94 win and was not available to reporters afterward because he was getting treatment. The next night he played 41 minutes.

Without him last season

By our count from last season's ESPN logs, the Wolves went 37-24 in the 61 games Edwards played and 12-9 in the 21 he missed.

The roster has changed since. LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga are here now, and Donte DiVincenzo is out after right Achilles tendon repair, per the NBA's official injury report. Ball had 15 points and 8 assists against Toronto and 7 turnovers in Cleveland.

The 65-game math

Minnesota has played 4 games. By our count, a full two-month absence leaves him at 55 games maximum. He'd need to return by the Dec. 1 game at Portland to reach 65.

What to watch

• Whether the Timberwolves confirm the procedure.
• The timeline the team gives, if it gives one, against the reported "up to two months."

Sources

• Shams Charania (ESPN) on X: Edwards arthroscopic procedure, up to two months
• Chris Haynes on X: Edwards out approximately two months after right knee procedure
• ESPN: Anthony Edwards game log
• ESPN: Minnesota Timberwolves schedule
• Minnesota Sports Fan: Anthony Edwards' knee does not look right (again)
• Jon Krawczynski on X, citing Joe Vardon: Finch on Edwards' knee
• NBA official injury report, Oct. 26, 2026
• NBA.com: Anthony Edwards player page