Latest news with #WCF
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Anthony Edwards receives WCF warning from Lou Williams
The post Anthony Edwards receives WCF warning from Lou Williams appeared first on ClutchPoints. Anthony Edwards watched his NBA title pursuit end Wednesday. He and the Minnesota Timberwolves fell 124-94 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, sealing their NBA playoffs fate. Edwards drew eyes and ears with some startling comments after the game, though — prompting Lou Williams to send a warning. Advertisement He told reporters he wasn't 'hurt' from losing in the Western Conference Finals. Edwards boldly said he'll work harder than ever this summer. The Minnesota star has now played in the last two WCF games. Still, the T-Wolves' star unhurt claim sparked a strong reaction from the FanDuel analyst and former NBA player. 'I've been to the Eastern Conference Finals once in 17 years. That is something you don't want to take for granted,' Williams told the panelists. 'Those opportunities come few and in between.' Williams earned three NBA Sixth Man of the Year nods in his career. He played on the 2020-21 Atlanta Hawks team that fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the ECF. That was Williams' lone ECF appearance in a career that started in 2005-06. Advertisement That wasn't the only stern warning Williams hit Edwards with. Additional warning Lou Williams sent to Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Here's one more statement Williams sent as advice to 'Ant Man' now that his offseason will begin. 'Ant, you've been blessed to be able to do this consecutive years. These teams are going to get better,' Williams warned about the rest of the Western Conference. 'They're not going to wait around for you. Sometimes, we've got to take advantage of the opportunities that's in front of u instead of looking ahead.' Williams then shared one hope for Edwards during the summer. Advertisement 'I want him to understand the magnitude of where his career can go from here,' Williams said. 'Everybody around you is building.' Williams eavesdropped the Thunder, Indiana Pacers and even threw in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic and Trae Young as 'guys who want to prove something to themselves and their fan bases.' Which hands Edwards continuous competition moving forward into his NBA career. Edwards ended Game 5 scoring 19 points. Julius Randle led Minnesota with 24. The Timberwolves face a critical offseason on how they can topple the Thunder and win their first-ever WCF crown.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
"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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement "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.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards tips hat to Thunder after Game 5 blowout
The post Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards tips hat to Thunder after Game 5 blowout appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Minnesota Timberwolves have accomplished so much over the past two seasons, but they have fallen short of their ultimate goal of winning a championship once more. Wednesday night was a bit of deja vu for the Timberwolves, as they saw their season come to a horrific end, being defeated yet again in the Western Conference Finals in five games after being crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5, 124-94. Advertisement In the end, the Timberwolves simply did not have enough firepower to make the series more competitive against the powerhouse Thunder. They needed to execute at a near-perfect level, but they couldn't even come close to that as a ghastly first-half performance proved to be the undoing of their season. All Anthony Edwards could do after the game was give credit to the Thunder for being the better team. 'They dominated the game from the tip. Can't do nothing but tip my hats to those guys. They came ready. Good job by them,' Edwards said in his postgame presser, via Josue Pavon, Thunder beat reporter for ClutchPoints. Edwards, in particular, found the Thunder's defense to be particularly smothering. OKC had too many weapons to deploy against the Timberwolves star; Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams had their time guarding Edwards. Advertisement Edwards couldn't knife his way into the lane with the ease he usually has, and it forced him to settle for tough shots that simply made scoring the basketball an uphill climb for both him and the Timberwolves. In Game 5, Edwards was held to just 19 points on 7-18 shooting from the field, and this has to be another humbling moment for him. The good news is that Edwards will be turning just 24 years of age prior to the start of next season, and he's already been to the Western Conference Finals twice. This should only harden his resolve as the Timberwolves now look to find the missing pieces necessary for them to be able to get over the hump. Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves look for the missing piece Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images The Timberwolves have lost in the WCF in five games for the second consecutive year, although this time around, the gap between them and the West's NBA Finals representative, the Thunder, appear to be bigger than last year. With salary cap problems set to continue plaguing the Timberwolves, it will be interesting to monitor which direction they will take when it comes to finding the missing piece to their championship puzzle. Will they trade for Kevin Durant? Or will they hope that internal improvements would be enough to get them over the hump?
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adds to Timberwolves woes with MVP 2-way play
The post Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adds to Timberwolves woes with MVP 2-way play appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Oklahoma City Thunder are officially four wins away from winning the NBA championship after handily taking care of business against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-94, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, after having some efficiency troubles in the previous series against the Denver Nuggets, has made mincemeat of the Timberwolves' defense, scoring 34 points on 14-25 shooting in the closeout game, deservedly winning WCF MVP honors in the process. Advertisement But Gilgeous-Alexander isn't just an unstoppable offensive force. He is also an instrumental part of the Thunder's elite defense that forces turnovers at a historically great rate. And towards the end of the Thunder's Game 5 beatdown of the Timberwolves, the 2025 NBA MVP showed that he's one of the best two-way players in the game by breaking up a one-two play from cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anthony Edwards, converting the steal into an emphatic jam in transition. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the WCF averaging 1.8 steals per contest, proving how disruptive he is as well on the defensive end. He has long shown excellent instinct on that end of the floor, and it's him being a stout presence defensively that made him quite the no-brainer pick for MVP in the end even if Nikola Jokic had the better statistical season by far. It must be very validating for Gilgeous-Alexander to see all his work result in all of this success for the Thunder. Oklahoma City's growth as a team has mirrored that of his personal development as a player. The Thunder front office's faith in him, that he could be the best player on a championship team, is paying off, and now, they are closer than ever to a championship — awaiting the winner of the barnburner Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks in what is shaping up to be an exciting NBA Finals series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder show how a rebuild is done Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images When the Thunder officially blew it up in 2020, many expected a painful rebuilding process to ensue. Little did everyone know that they would already have a future MVP on the roster in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander instead of needing to develop one via the NBA Draft. Since then, they have hit on nearly every move — drafting Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams in 2022 were major triumphs, Cason Wallace was an excellent lottery pick, and even Josh Giddey, their 2021 lottery pick, was turned into Alex Caruso. Of course, Luguentz Dort was also a bonafide win for the Thunder development team; turning an undrafted player into one of the most important 3-and-D cogs in the league was quite the major victory. Now, it looks like the Thunder have all the pieces needed to complete the championship puzzle.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mark Daigneault calls Thunder players ‘idiots' during hilarious WCF speech
The post Mark Daigneault calls Thunder players 'idiots' during hilarious WCF speech appeared first on ClutchPoints. After a series filled with ups, downs, and historic performances, the Oklahoma City Thunder have officially become the Western Conference Champions, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 in a pivotal Game 5 at the Paycom Center. Advertisement The Thunder threw more at the T-Wolves than they could handle, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in another MVP-caliber performance, and in the end, Mark Daigneault was given his flowers for a job well done. After the final results were tallied, Daigneault was asked what it meant to take his Thunder to the NBA finals, with the head coach noting that he's incredibly proud of his players… at least until they started throwing towels at him Nick Gallo style, as noted by Dailey Thunder's Brandon Rahbar. 'These guys are uncommon. They do everything right,' Daigneault declared. 'They're high character… they're idiots.' Now granted, did Daigneault really think he would get his team to the NBA Finals without being awarded with a few towels and a backward cap for his troubles? To this Thunder team, that's the highest compliment a coach, player, or broadcaster can receive. Advertisement With the Western Conference locked up, the Thunder now have to wait and see who will join them in the NBA Finals, as the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are still duking it out in the Eastern Conference Finals. If the Pacers secure the win in Game 5, then all that will be left to do for the NBA to schedule how the series will shake out, but if the Knicks fight back, taking the game to six or even seven, the Thunder may once again get to take an extended break as they recoup and reload for their first finals trip since 2012. After taking care of the Memphis Grizzlies in four games back in April, the Thunder lost Game 1 to the Denver Nuggets 121-119. If they get an extended break before the NBA Finals, they may again have to fight off the rust to ensure they bring back the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy for the first time in franchise history
