MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards hit a 13-foot fadeaway jumper from the baseline midway through the fourth quarter against Cleveland on Thursday night to become the third youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 career points.
Edwards is 24 years and 156 days old, second only to LeBron James (23 years and 59 days) and Kevin Durant (24 years and 33 days). Edwards is one of seven players to reach 10,000 points before turning 25, joining Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Tracy McGrady and Carmelo Anthony.
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“Honestly, it’s cool, but I know I have a lot of work to do, so it really doesn’t matter,” Edwards said after the 131-122 win over the Cavaliers. “I feel a little sick in front of Kobe. I wish I could have waited 100 days or something like that, but yeah, it’s all good.”
Edwards had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as the Timberwolves hit season highs in field goal percentage (51 of 89, 57%) and three-point shooting (20 of 38, 53%). Edwards made 10 of 20 shots and 4 of 7 three-pointers.
“Scoring comes naturally to him in a lot of ways,” head coach Chris Finch said, recalling Edwards’ first career 40-point game late in his rookie season in Phoenix. “That’s when you knew there was something inside him that would allow him to do this.”
Edwards, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, made his debut at age 19. He reached the 10,000-point mark in 412 games, ranking 28th in NBA history and seventh among active players, trailing only Doncic (358), James (368), Joel Embiid (373), Durant (381), Trae Young (390) and Donovan Mitchell (410). Only two Timberwolves players have scored 10,000 points: Kevin Garnett and Karl-Anthony Towns.
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