For Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, watching NBA games on TV was a luxury for himself and his family when he was young.
The two-time NBA All-Star said he grew up without cable TV in his Atlanta-area home because his family couldn’t afford it. But on Christmas Day, NBA games became available locally on ABC’s Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV, which felt like a Christmas present to Edwards and his family.
“You don’t have to have cable to watch ABC in your crib, so KD (Kevin Durant) will be playing on Christmas,” Edwards told Andscape. “Me, my mother, my grandmother, my brother, we all sat there and watched him. It was just special for us.”
This year, NBA fans will be able to see Edwards on Christmas for the first time.
Five NBA games will be played, including Edwards’ Timberwolves visiting the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. This will be the third time in franchise history that the Timberwolves have played on Christmas Day, the other games being on the road in 2016 and 2017.
Edwards, who is in his fifth NBA season, is honored to play on Christmas Day.
“Credit to the organization for getting the right people around to play in the Christmas game,” Edwards said. “And last season (season) we accomplished something we hadn’t done in 20 years (reaching the Western Conference finals). Of course we got paid for our success, which is great. Christmas Game I’ve been waiting for…
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“On a day when you should be showing love, you’re doing something you love. Why not play a game of basketball? It’s my first chance and I want to make the most of it.”
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said: Throughout the NBA season, some games, as much as we hate to admit it, are bigger than others and feel bigger than others. And Christmas Day is an incredible honor and tradition. I’ve participated a few times, and it’s really fun. ”
Edwards entered Christmas Day ranked 11th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 25.3 points per game. The Olympic gold medalist and No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft is considered one of the league’s brightest young stars and one of its most exciting players.
Edwards may be more excited about playing on Christmas than fans seeing him.
“I’m going to be very, very happy,” Edwards said. “It’s Christmas, dude. I don’t even know how to explain it. I’ve never played on Christmas, so I can’t wait to see what it’s like. I know it’s going to be fun.”
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The NBA debuted in 1946, and games were first played on Christmas Day in 1947. The 1998-1999 NBA lockout season was the only season in which no games were played on Christmas Day.
The 2024 NBA Christmas Game will include Edwards, Durant, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Victor Wenbanyama, Jalen Brunson, and Jayson. – Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, etc. However, 20 NBA teams have not been given the opportunity to play, including the 2024 NBA Cup champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, and finalists, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I wish more great players had the opportunity to play on that stage at Christmas,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “It’s been an interesting evolution since the early days when we got a lot of complaints (from teams) about playing on Christmas. Now it’s the opposite where (teams) are saying, ‘Why not play on Christmas?’ I ended up in a position. I wish it could accommodate more teams.
“I love the tradition of playing on Christmas Day. It’s a tradition in this league that goes back over 75 years. I love the amount of excitement that builds around it. It’s just a remarkable thing in this league. is.”
But if there’s any coal in Edwards’ stock, it’s that the Christmas matchup in Dallas is also a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Finals.
The third-seeded Timberwolves entered the West Regional final as favorites against the fifth-seeded Mavericks. However, Doncic turned heads by averaging 32.4 points and leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals with a 4-1 series victory. The Mavs defeated the Timberwolves 120-114 in their first meeting of the season on October 29 in Minneapolis.
Edwards is still haunted by the loss in the Western Conference Finals and his play in that series.
“The thing that bothers me the most is that I’m not me,” said Edwards, 23. “I’m not taking over the game, I’m not making shots, I’m just tired. So I’m definitely ready to get there again.”
Edwards and the Timberwolves may be energized heading into the holiday season after Monday’s 117-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Timberwolves have an astonishing record of 14 wins and 14 losses, and have lost three straight. But Edwards was given an early Christmas present because his grandfather was in attendance for Monday’s game. Minnesota is still adjusting, having traded longtime forward Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks just before training camp for forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo.
Finch is trying not to get too up or down during the Timberwolves’ roller coaster season.
“(We’re) trying not to live and die by each result,” Finch said before the Hawks’ loss. “We think this is still in the early stages of the process of integrating everyone. We are facing some challenges that we did not anticipate. We may be trying to reinvent ourselves. We’re dealing with the weight of expectations for a great season. But this is a completely different team.”
Sadly for Edwards, his mother and grandmother passed away long before he saw him play in the NBA. Edwards was 14 years old and in the eighth grade when her mother, Yvette Edwards, died of cancer on January 5, 2015. Seven months later, his grandmother, Shirley Edwards, died after her cancer returned.
Edwards is blessed with a new family to introduce him to Christmas. It’s my new baby daughter, Aislin. Edwards’ girlfriend, Shannon Jackson, was shown giving birth to a baby in the 2024 Netflix documentary series Starting Five. Edwards said Jackson and the baby will be at the Christmas game in Dallas.
During a game earlier this season, Aislin was photographed wearing noise-canceling headphones, playing with a stuffed animal and chewing on a pacifier.
“She’s going to look at that picture when she’s older and it’s going to be fun because she’s a happy (expletive) baby,” Edwards said. “She’s always smiling, so it looks like she’s having fun.”
