Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was cited for third-degree assault by Denver police following the team’s season-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets after he allegedly swung a folding chair and struck two women who were working at the time at Ball Arena.
Denver beat Minnesota 112-109 on Tuesday night to win the first-round NBA playoff series in five games. Edwards missed the tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer, a 27-footer that hit the back iron.
According to the report received by Denver police, Edwards was walking off the court to the locker room when he swung the chair and injured the employees. Their injuries were not serious, Denver police spokesman Jay Casillas said.
According to police, Edwards was cited for misdemeanour third-degree assault, defined as “knowingly or recklessly” causing bodily injury. Edwards was scheduled for a court appearance on June 9.
The Timberwolves, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said they were “aware of the alleged incident” and “in the process of gathering more information.” The club had no further comment. Timberwolves players and team officials were scheduled to hold season-ending news conferences this week.
Edwards was fined 40,000 USD by the NBA for homophobic comments he made in a video posted to his Instagram account shortly before the season began. He recorded a group of men on a sidewalk from a vehicle he was inside and could be heard making a disparaging, profane comment about what he assumed to be their sexual orientation. The Timberwolves reprimanded him, and Edwards apologized.
“Man, I respect everybody. I know what I posted was immature, and I’m sorry for that if I hurt anyone,” Edwards said at media day on Sept. 26. “I’m working to be better.”
The 21-year-old Edwards, who was the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, was an injury replacement selection for the All-Star Game earlier this season. He’s eligible this summer for a five-year rookie-scale contract extension that would be in the 200 million USD range.
Edwards had 158 points in the five games against Denver, the fifth-most in a playoff series in NBA history for a player under age 22. The other four who scored more — LeBron James (214 in six games in the first round and 186 in seven games in the second round in 2006), Luka Doncic (186 in six games in the first round in 2019) and Donovan Mitchell (171 in six games in the first round in 2017) — all played in more games.
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