Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards to miss time with knee injury, dealing blow to team’s seeding hopes

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards will be re-evaluated for inflammation in his right knee in one to two weeks, the organization announced Tuesday, dealing a blow to the team’s hopes of cementing a top-four playoff seed and threatening to remove another top player from all-NBA eligibility.

Edwards, 24, is averaging 29.5 points per game this season, the third-best mark in the league behind Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has been the one constant on a Timberwolves team that is experiencing an up-and-down season after back-to-back conference finals appearances. Minnesota is tied with the Denver Nuggets for fifth place in the Western Conference at 41-27. While they sit just one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for third, they are also only two games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Suns for the final guaranteed playoff spot, with Phoenix already holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Timberwolves host Phoenix on Tuesday night.

Edwards has played in 58 games this season, meaning he will need to participate in seven more contests to be eligible for all-NBA honors. Edwards has been named to the all-NBA second team in back-to-back seasons and would likely land on one of the three teams if he plays at least 65 games. The Timberwolves have 14 games remaining this season; they would only have seven left if Edwards misses exactly two weeks.

Edwards has been bothered by knee pain for more than a week. He knocked knees in the fourth quarter against Golden State on Friday and was listed as questionable for the game Sunday against Oklahoma City. Edwards played in that game but was clearly laboring. He was listed as out for the game against Phoenix on Tuesday before the team updated his status.

This story will be updated.