Anthony Edwards is averaging 18.5 points per game in the playoffs for the Wolves.
Minnesota All-Star Anthony Edwards will be sidelined for at least one week with a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee, a diagnosis the Timberwolves formally announced Monday before Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series at Denver.
Edwards had an MRI exam that confirmed the absence of structural damage, a relief to the Timberwolves after Edwards’ injury occurred in the second quarter of their Game 4 victory over the Nuggets. Still, his availability for the Western Conference semifinals, if they advance, will be in question. The team called his status week to week, so Edwards would likely miss at least the beginning of the next series before he’s cleared to return.
NEWS: Anthony Edwards Injury Update pic.twitter.com/gigqlu6qqg
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 27, 2026
“With the two injuries we had in one game, it was as positive as you can get it,” guard Mike Conley told reporters after the team’s pregame shootaround in Denver. ”Obviously we want him to get healthy. We want him to be recovered as quickly as he can, but his health is No. 1. He knows his body. When his body’s ready, he’s going to fight through it. We know if we can get out of the series, we’ll get him back.”
Minnesota, which took a 3-1 lead on Denver in the series into Game 5, lost its other starting guard, Donte DiVincenzo, for the rest of the postseason and much of next season with a ruptured right Achilles tendon he suffered in the opening minutes of Game 4.
Edwards was hurt in the first half of the Timberwolves’ 112-96 win over against the Nuggets on Saturday night, a victory that gave the Timberwolves a 3-1 lead in that series. But the Wolves also lost fellow starting guard Donte DiVincenzo in that game with a torn Achilles tendon, meaning his season is over and his 2026-27 season is likely in great jeopardy as well.
Game 5 of the series is Monday night in Denver (10:30 p.m. ET, NBC & Peacock).
DiVincenzo was having surgery to repair the Achilles on Sunday in New York, the Timberwolves announced. That timeframe – surgery one day after the injury – follows what Boston’s Jayson Tatum did after he suffered the same injury in last season’s playoffs.
Tatum started rehab quickly and missed about 10 months, returning for the final stretch of this season. If DiVincenzo follows the same timeline, he could be back before the end of next season.
Edwards is one of the NBA’s most dynamic players, someone who – if he had met the league’s eligibility criteria by playing in a few more games – would have been a lock to make the All-NBA team for a third consecutive season.
Edwards was fourth in scoring for the U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal at the Paris Games in 2024. He missed 21 games this season, by far the most of his career.
This injury happened with him on the defensive end, while he was contesting a layup attempt by Denver’s Cam Johnson. Edwards leaped in an effort to block the shot, and when he landed his left leg appeared to be at an unusual angle. His knee buckled, and when he hobbled off the floor, he seemed unable to put much, if any, weight on that leg.
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said he didn’t see DiVincenzo before leaving the arena, and he had a quiet exchange with Edwards when he saw him in the locker room.
“I just dapped him up,” Randle said. “There’s not much to say in those moments. … Somebody who’s going through those situations is processing a lot.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
