"Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer" - Anthony Edwards promises to bounce back after another WCF heartbreak
"Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer" - Anthony Edwards promises to bounce back after another WCF heartbreak originally appeared on Basketball Network.
After being eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards doesn't want to perceive this defeat as one that badly hurts.
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Despite making it as far as the WCF for the second straight year, only to be sent home again, "Ant-Man" views getting back to this stage as a fun challenge that he mentioned he's going to fully commit himself to doing again next season.
"I'm going to work my butt off this summer. Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer, I'll tell you that much. I'll try to make it happen again for Mike [Conley]," said Edwards.
Hurt for a different reason
The 6'3" guard singled out his teammate Mike Conley — who sat beside him at his postgame presser — because he knows that the 18-year veteran's time in the league is about to end. Edwards values the 37-year-old point guard a ton because they've shared a close relationship over the last three years. The former Buckeye, in particular is viewed as the leader of this Timberwolves team.
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But outside of feeling like he let his leader down, the three-time All-Star isn't going to wallow in the disappointing series that Minnesota had. If anything, the 23-year-old superstar feels they got what they wanted, which was to just get to the playoffs and try to wreak havoc, especially after their turbulent regular season.
"We thought it was going downhill. We thought it was over for us at one point, it got real bad. Then we got hurt. But like Mike said, we turned it around, and I remember having that conversation like we just got to get to the playoffs, then we'll figure it out. So yeah man, we did pretty good this year and we just came up short again. We'll try to do it next year," said Edwards.
Related: "I just got tired of hearing it and just thought it was best for me to move on" - Patrick Ewing admits he regrets leaving the Knicks out of spite
It's about getting to OKC's level
One of the reasons why Edwards isn't also angry about losing to the Thunder is because he's accepted the fact that they were simply the better team in the series. It was OKC's defense in particular that Ant felt they couldn't solve on top of them, simply just being the sharper team in terms of adjustments, IQ, and game plan.
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"It's not frustrating because it's part of the game. Like I said, they're a really good team and everyone here knows it. It's no surprise that this team is pretty good. They were ready. They're very prepared, like I said before, well coached from top to bottom," said Edwards.
It seems Georgia product has said the right things, from giving the team that defeated him their flowers to acknowledging what he and his team need to work on to get better.
However, it's also one thing to say something rather than actually do it, and it'll be interesting to see what happens in Edwards' case. Will he come out next season looking like nobody worked harder than him over the summer? We'll eventually find out.
Related: "You gotta be a role model, and things outside the lines matter" - Perkins on why Edwards can't be considered the face of the league
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
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