Report: Timberwolves to play against Mavericks on Christmas Day

The athleteShams Charania announced the NBA games for Christmas Day 2024 on Thursday night. Some of the mainstays, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, took part in the December 25 festivities, but new teams also made the list, including the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This is only the third time in franchise history that the Timberwolves have played on Christmas Day. Their first road game was in 2016, a 112-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their second game was in 2017, a 121-102 victory over the Lakers at Staples Center.

A few days before Shams announced the roster, there were rumors that the Wolves would play the Mavericks on Christmas Day. And before Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Brian Windhorst spoke with confidence that the Wolves – especially Anthony Edwards – would become a future Christmas Day mainstay.

“Take the Christmas holidays off,” said Windy FOX 9Ahmad Hicks. “Ant Edwards will be a Christmas Day feature for the foreseeable future.” Hicks then asked: “Is that what you think?” Windy replied confidently: “I know it.” He said: “There will be prime time games. The networks will be outdoing each other and battling to get Ant on TV.”

Edwards is the kind of star you want to see play on December 25, the most streamed day of the NBA regular season. It's a shame this is his first time playing on Christmas, and national fans only got to see him a handful of times last regular season.

His rise to superstardom has been steady and moving at lightning speed. Windy is right, national broadcasters will be outbidding each other to get Ant on their airwaves.

Edwards set career highs in all areas last season in points (25.7), assists (5.1), field goal attempts (19.7), field goal percentage (46.1%), free throw attempts (6.4) and free throw percentage (83.6%). He was the key player on a Timberwolves team that finished with the third-best record in the Western Conference (56-26) and held the best record in the West longer than any other team.

The Atlanta native's rise grew even faster in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, where he averaged 27.6 points in 16 games – sixth-highest in the entire league among all players who played 10 or more games – seven rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals on 48.1% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.

It started with Ant poking fun at his childhood idol Kevin Durant in Games 1 and 2 of the first round. He was DX Chopper at the Footprint Center when the Wolves swept the Phoenix Suns. He scored 43 points to steal Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets. He told a locker room attendant in Denver after the Wolves were down 3-2 to the Nuggets that he would “see you all motherfuckers at Game 7,” kept his word, hitting a three-pointer from the corner that capped a 15-point comeback and gave the Wolves their first Western Conference seed in 20 years.

The playoffs didn't end the way the Wolves hoped after their euphoric Game 7 win in Denver. They were eliminated in five games by the Mavericks. However, the 16-game postseason turned Ant into a superstar. Fans across the country may have known he was a promising young player, definitely a next-generation star. But Edwards used the 2024 playoffs to show everyone that he is currently a face of the NBA and will be for many years to come.

The WCF draws a lot of attention nationally, but the Olympics draw even more viewers, this time on a global scale. Edwards, now 23, is the youngest player on the U.S. men's basketball team's roster. He averages 13.8 points, the second-highest on the team, on 60.5% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc. Ant came off the bench but is still a big reason the Americans will play the French team in the gold medal game on Saturday.

No stage is too big for Edwards. He is the best player on one of the best teams in the West, whose goal is to reach the Finals for the first time in franchise history.

After last season's success, it's only right that the Timberwolves not only play on Christmas Day 2024, but do so many years from now. Wolves fans will tune in on December 25 to see their team play as a whole, but national fans will be watching in hopes of seeing Edwards once again deliver one of his many captivating, jaw-dropping performances.