In the waning seconds of the Minnesota Timberwolves game last night, against the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Edwards (Ant) had the ball in his hand. looking for an opening that would lead to a game-clinching basket. The Clippers players, well aware of Edward’s big-play stature, were stacking up, preparing for one of his patented swoops to the hoop. On the Minnesota bench, head coach Chris Finch was yelling at his superstar to pass the ball to an open teammate.

Ant, with a wry grin on his face, seemed to ignore his coach’s prodding, then committed one of the no-nos of good basketball play. He dribbled into the corner, hounded closely by two Los Angeles defenders, and appeared trapped. But Edwards leaned into the Clippers’ Kris Dunn and shot over a frustrated Derrick Jones Jr. and coolly sank the two-pointer, giving the Wolves a four-point lead. The game would culminate seconds later with Minnesota’s 94-88 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Edwards Takes Control

Was Edward’s play a prime example of a petulant, spoiled superstar doing whatever he pleased on the court, regardless of its benefit to his team? Did coach Finch go berserk after the game, lamenting on the immaturity of today’s NBA elite and wishing for the good old days of stand-up players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson? Here are the two principals’ comments after the game.

Edwards: “I just tried to shoot it every time I touched it. Some are gonna say I should have passed, but I’ll be all right. I think we have a better chance of winning with me shooting it. Me and my coach got the best relationship ever. He be right most of the time — 98 percent of the time. He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot the ball instead, and it went in. The basketball gods were on my side.

Finch: “He has incredible confidence. He’s not afraid of the moment. You’d be surprised that a lot of guys don’t have that. … The key is he has things now that are repeatable that he knows he can get to. I think before he was more ad-lib, and that just helps him settle the game down, read the floor and play a little bit more under control.”

These comments demonstrate that the player and his coach were on the same page and were in total agreement on what was needed to close out the game. As for his teammates, here’s what Ant’s new teammate Ayo Dosunmu had to say about Edwards’ performance. “The confidence is there, and that’s half the battle in basketball, if not 75 percent of the battle. Any time he shoots, I think it’s going to go in also.”

Rightful Place Among NBA Elite

Wolves’ fans know that Edwards has been displaying his greatness all season. The national audience got to see it firsthand when he won the MVP Award for his play in the recent NBA All-Star Game. Ant, who finished the game with 31 points, has also surpassed previous Timberwolves greats in another, non-official category. Although they were among the NBA’s best, Kevin Garnett and Karl-Anthony Towns were sometimes accused of being reticent to take the big shot in crunch time.

Whether that is a fair criticism or not, I will leave that to others. What is not in doubt is that Edwards is not only comfortable with the ball in his hands in pressure situations, but he craves it, and he usually rises to the occasion, cementing his teammates’ confidence in him.

A Team in Unison

So, on a night when most of his teammates shot the ball poorly, Edwards still managed to will his team to an important road win. His teammates respect him immensely, and he reciprocates. After almost every game, he will praise Wolves forward Jaden Daniels, raving about how essential his defensive contributions are to the team’s success. This is a team in unison, hoping to make another long playoff run. With Ant at the helm, it would be a sin to doubt them.