Anthony Edwards hits back as Dirk Nowitzki and NBA icons call him out for late-game act they’ve ‘never seen’

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals after handing the Minnesota Timberwolves a 139-109 defeat in Game 6.

Wembanyama tallied 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and three blocks.

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In doing so, the 7-foot-4 French phenom made NBA history by becoming only the second player since the 1973-74 season to average over 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks through the first 10 postseason games of their career.

The other was Spurs legend and Hall of Famer David Robinson.

Anthony Edwards called out by NBA legends

For the Timberwolves, though, it was heartbreak again, this time failing to even reach the conference finals after having done so in the previous two seasons.

Anthony Edwards, who defied medicine when he returned for Game 1 of the series against the Spurs despite having suffered a hyperextended knee and subsequent bone bruising just nine days earlier, was unable to will his team to force a Game 7.

Behind his team-high 24 points, only Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu scored double-digit points with 13 and 10, respectively, with remaining starters Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert combining for just three points on 1-for-12 shooting.

Edwards went and dapped up his opponents, congratulating them on winning the series and advancing to the next round.

The issue, though, was that he did so with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter – albeit the score was 128-95 – which left NBA legends Udonis Haslem and Dirk Nowitzki reeling.

“I’ve watched the NBA and been a part of it for a long long time,” Mavericks icon Dirk said on NBA on Prime’s Nightcap.

“I’ve never seen this. A guy walking into the huddle with 8 minutes to go in the 4th and dapping up the entire team…”

“As great as Ant is as a basketball player, there is still some growth for him as well,” Haslem said. “Because as a leader, I would not have walked down there and shook their hands with eight minutes left in the game.

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“As a leader of my troops and my guys, I would not show that weakness. The game is not over. I got eight minutes left. I’ve still got smoke coming out of my ears because I’m so damn mad that we’re losing.

“Let me calm down for those eight minutes because I’m not in [the game] and after those eight minutes, I’ll go down there and congratulate them and their coaching staff.

“But in the middle of the game, when I’ve got guys who [are out on the court] have sat on the bench and cheered me on, no I’m going to sit there and cheer those guys on. I’m gonna put that energy back into those guys. …

“I damn sure know that Wemby wouldn’t have went down there and shook their hands with eight minutes left.”

With the Timberwolves’ season coming to an end, Edwards spoke about the incident which had some rattled, explaining his side.

“I mean, I just tip my hat to them,” he said. “They’re just the better team. I mean at that point, you ain’t going back in, so you’re just trying to give them their respect.”

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“At that point, you know you ain’t going back in, so you’re just trying to get them the respect that they deserve.”

Spurs set up mouth-watering clash vs Thunder

But it was sophomore guard Stephon Castle who led the way, scoring a team-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, in which he shot 6-of-11 from the field, and nailed 71.4 percent of his three-point attempts.

Speaking after the game, 2026 Defensive Player of the Year Wembanyama spoke of Castle’s performance, after he hit a career-high five three’s, as well as the team’s overall outing as a cohesive unit.

“The way this team is built, they were trying to take me away from the rim and just grab me,” Wembanyama said. “There’s no other way to fight that than just fight it with physicality.

“[Castle] was amazing. Just the composure to make the late choice and to push the defense in as far as they can go to take care of our strengths, he was great. He shot the ball when he should have, made the shots, and passed when he should’ve passed it.”

The Spurs will take on the reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, with the winner of the seven-game series set to challenge for the chance to win the championship.

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