Anthony Edwards is having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Today, Oct. 29, and the Minnesota Timberwolves star could miss about two months. An MRI on Tuesday showed new damage that earlier scans, taken before training camp and during the playoffs, did not catch. Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the team expects Edwards to come back fully healthy and will set a firmer return date after the procedure.
ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news on X Tuesday, reporting an absence of up to two months. The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski followed on X with word that it could stretch longer.
Why does Anthony Edwards need knee surgery now?
Edwards was playing the best basketball of his career on a knee that needed fixing. He opened the season with 133 points in four games, a franchise record. On Monday, a day after he was seen grabbing that same knee during the home opener against Toronto, he dropped 47 in an overtime loss at Cleveland. Krawczynski noted the shots were falling but the usual burst was missing, and Edwards sometimes walked with a limp.
The right knee has a history. It started bothering him last March, when an MRI showed inflammation, and the pain followed him into the playoffs. He finished last season with a career low 61 games, then hyperextended his left knee against Denver in the first round.
Connelly said the summer scans never justified surgery. Tuesday’s scan did. He added that Edwards resisted the decision hard and still wanted to suit up Wednesday night.
Due to the NBA’s 65-game rule, Anthony Edwards is expected to miss out on a 4-year, $304M supermax deal for making All-NBA due to his injury.
Damn. https://t.co/Odg2qAs0o1
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 28, 2026
Who steps up for the Timberwolves without Anthony Edwards?
The first test came fast. Minnesota fell to Golden State 119 to 114 on Wednesday at Target Center. The Wolves trailed 64 to 48 at halftime and nearly erased the gap. The loss dropped them to 3 and 2.
LaMelo Ball, the team’s big offseason addition, now holds the keys. Coach Chris Finch said the Wolves will replace Edwards’ scoring by committee, with Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Bones Hyland in line for bigger roles. Dosunmu has done this before. With Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo both hurt in last spring’s series against Denver, he poured in 43 points in a Game 4 win.
DiVincenzo is still out after tearing his right Achilles tendon in that same playoff game, so the backcourt is thinner than the depth chart suggests.
What does the surgery cost Anthony Edwards beyond games?
Here is where the calendar matters more than the scalpel. Before the knee gave out, Edwards ranked second in the league in scoring behind Luka Dončić and sat squarely in the early MVP conversation.
The NBA requires players to appear in 65 games to qualify for MVP and All NBA honors. In an 82 game season, that leaves room for only 17 absences. Anthony Edwards has already missed one. NBA teams play roughly three to four games a week, so a two month recovery would cost him around two dozen games or more. If that estimate holds, his awards case likely ends in an operating room Thursday, unless he beats the timeline by weeks.
His camp seems to know it. Business manager Justin Holland told The Athletic that individual honors mean nothing to Edwards and that his only goal is a championship.
That may be the most revealing statement of the week. The Timberwolves are protecting a knee for April. Anthony Edwards is giving up a trophy chase to let them.
