The NBA Western Conference Finals could be over as soon as Wednesday if the Oklahoma City Thunder win Game 5. But the focus isn’t on the Thunder—it’s on Anthony Edwards and his disappointing Game 4 performance.
The young star has been a dominant force throughout the playoffs, but Monday night was far from his best showing. Despite the Timberwolves putting up 126 points, Oklahoma City’s elite defense—widely regarded as the best in the NBA—successfully shut Edwards down.
Edwards has been one of the most vocal players in the postseason, engaging in trash talk throughout. But now, with the Timberwolves' season on the line, he’ll need to worry less about the talk and more about winning three straight games.
His lack of aggression in Game 4 was noticeable—and costly.
“Facing the league's best defense has undoubtedly been challenging for Edwards. However, some of his struggles have stemmed from a lack of aggression; in Game 4, he shot just two field goals in the first half. Your best player needs to be more aggressive than that,” Eamon Cassels wrote.
After the game, Edwards pushed back on the idea that he struggled, a comment that drew sharp criticism from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
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“When your response is, ‘I don't think I struggled, I made the right play,' when it was a relatively pedestrian offensive performance for you, that's inexcusable,” Smith said.
However, the most unexpected criticism came from Kendrick Perkins, who questioned whether Edwards could ever truly be the face of the league—not for his game, but for his personal life.
“You gotta check the boxes when you’re the face of the league…Bird, Magic, MJ, Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, Steph… they all were family men. They all were married with kids,” Perkins said on First Take.
There’s been speculation that Edwards could be the league’s next face, especially after taking down several veteran stars early in his career. But according to Perkins, leadership off the court matters just as much. Edwards undoubtedly has a bright future, but in Perkins’ eyes, he may never earn the title of face of the league if he doesn’t check off the family box.