All-Star defender Anthony Edwards has agreed to extend a five-year contract with Minnesota Timberwolves worth up to 260 million dollars, his representative told Adrian Wojnarowski. Edwards was eligible to extend the rookie size this season, and he received the maximum deal after a career season with the Wolfs.
Edwards made his first appearance last season with an average of 24.6 points in his career, along with 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assistants. He joined LaMelo Ball and Desmond Bane as other players signed contracts to expand the rookie scale since the free-agent team began playing on June 30.
Edwards, 22, in August, claimed to be the Timberwolves’ key player, whom Tim Connelly, president of the basketball team, is planning to build around. Edwards made his first All-Star game last season and averaged 31.6 points in Timberwolves’ playoff series against eventual champion Denver Nugget.
According to a study by ESPN Stats & Information, Edwards is the only NBA player with 1,500 points and 100 steals in each of the past two seasons.
Edwards was the fourth member of his draft class to approve a maximum contract extension, joining Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana, Charlotte’s La Melo Ball and Memphis’ Desmond Bane. Edwards, Haliburton and Ball have All-NBA escalator clauses that can take $207 million to $260 million guarantees, sources said.
Minnesota joined Denver and Phoenix as one of three teams with three maximum contracts on the 2024–25 roster.
“I am humble, appreciative and eager to remain in Minnesota as part of this incredible Timberwolves organization,” Edwards said in a statement. “It’s amazing to see where hard work can take you.”
Edwards also introduced a new initiative called “Don’t Follow The Wave,” which will target young people in the local community with “my time, funds and resources,” he said in a statement.
“Don’t Follow The Wave” will partner with other non-profit groups that serve young people in the region. Edwards, who lost her mother and grandmother to cancer in 2015, will also provide her support to the African American Breast Cancer Alliance.