Why Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ return reminds Mike Conley of 2015

Anthony Edwards ended up missing the final two games of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first-round series against the Denver Nuggets due to a knee injury, but the Timberwolves, despite being heavily undermanned, were able to get the job done.

But what loomed was a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in the following round — a team that will require the Timberwolves to have so much more offensive firepower due to the presence of Victor Wembanyama.

Thankfully for the Timberwolves, Edwards was able to return for Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal clash against the Spurs, scoring 18 points on 8-13 shooting from the field (2-3 from deep) off the bench to provide a huge lift for his team en route to a 104-102 victory.

Edwards, who is just 24 years of age, has some youthful legs and can still recover quickly. If he were five years older, perhaps he would not have been able to return just nine days after suffering a knee injury. And Mike Conley, who’s 14 years Edwards’ senior, was reminded of what he did in the playoffs 11 years ago with what the Timberwolves star did.

“Broke my face one time and played like four days later [in Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors in the second round back in 2015],” Conley said, via Anthony Slater of ESPN. “Probably similar where you shouldn’t be playing but you do anyway and you win the game, and sparks the team somehow. Him doing that, I saw a lot of myself in that. I’m super proud of him and excited that he was able to come back.”

“I called him my hero before the game. … Nobody expected him to play. Just his level of commitment to the game, the respect that he has for us, the opportunity that we have in front of us, speaks volumes.”

Mike Conley on Anthony Edwards playing nine days after the knee injury: “I called him my hero before the game.”

Conley compared it to when he came back eight days after facial fractures to help Grizzlies beat Warriors in G2 of 2015 semis

Full perspective pic.twitter.com/spwZTlWEIk

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 5, 2026

Conley’s not doing too bad himself, even now that he’s 38 years of age. He made four triples on Monday to finish with 12 points, providing another huge life for the Timberwolves in another start amid the team’s backcourt injury woes.

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