Is Anthony Edwards playing tonight? Exploring Timberwolves guard's availability vs Nuggets | 2024 NBA preseason

Anthony Edwards and new acquisition Julius Randle's synergy will be in focus as the Minnesota Timberwolves play their final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at Target Center on Thursday (Oct. 17). The guard has looked solid in the preseason games played so far, but that wasn't enough for the team to get past the New York Knicks and most recently, the Chicago Bulls.

The T-Wolves come off a 125-123 loss to the Bulls where Edwards had 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. The explosive guard is expected to play against the Nuggets. ESPN's latest injury report does not list Anthony Edwards, making him one of the candidates to take the floor.

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Can Anthony Edwards help the Minnesota Timberwolves have another successful season?

The expectations for Anthony Edwards only got higher after the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Karl-Anthony Towns, one of their premier franchise cornerstones for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. The T-Wolves have enough firepower to make up for Towns absence, but their defense will now depend on Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid.

At 23, he is already a two-time All-Star and led Minnesota to the Western Conference finals; he is coming off a gold medal run with the U.S. Olympic team this summer in Paris. The Timberwolves will need more from Edwards, who improved substantially as a playmaker and facilitator. This resulted in his first All-NBA selection and is key if the team intends to be a top-10 offense this season in a stacked West.

In his three preseason games so far, Edwards is averaging 21.0 points, three rebounds and three assists. The guard showed out with a 31-point blitz against the Knicks that indicated that he was ready for the season.

Edwards has already earned lofty comparisons to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Earlier this year, analyst Stephen A. Smith said Edwards had all the necessary qualities his predecessors did to be bona fide legends of the game:

"Right now when I see Anthony Edwards, I see in the making, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan. You know how I hate cold weather. I'll fly to Minnesota to see that brother. He is box office. Anthony Edwards, you hear what I'm saying to y'all, he is special."

Much depends on Edwards this season, and only time will tell if he can continue his meteoric rise in the NBA to help the T-Wolves make a deeper run.