One of the NBA’s best current rivalries tips off for the first time in the 2025-26 season on Monday night with the Nuggets traveling to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves, but this installment may be lacking some serious star power as Anthony Edwards exited the Wolves’ game on Sunday just minutes in with hamstring tightness, and didn’t return.
Edwards started off the season with a 41-point game and a 31-point game, coming out of the gate red hot in his sixth season in the league. Edwards and the T-Wolves are looking to build on back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals, with Ant primed to take a leap into MVP contention.
But it appears likely that Edwards will miss his team’s first showdown with the Nuggets on Monday night. There has been no official update or word on the game status yet, but with Ant leaving Sunday’s game after just three minutes, playing the next night, on the second night of a back-to-back, with a hamstring issue, feels like a long shot.
Minnesota has lofty ambitions for this season, and while they’d love to get a big win over their rivals, they’ve got their eyes on a bigger prize. They aren’t going to trot out their young, generational superstar with a balky hammy a week into the season.
Nuggets dodge major bullet with Edwards injury news
Injuries are never “good news”, but this should certainly help the Nuggets’ chances of winning on Monday night. Denver has struggled mightily with the Wolves over the past couple of seasons, getting bounced from the playoffs by Minnesota two seasons ago, before getting swept by their division rivals last season.
They’ve had no answers for the team that Tim Connelly built, but facing them without Edwards should help the cause. Without Ant, expect the Wolves to lean heavily on Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for offense, and hope the defense, led by Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, can carry them.
But without their number one option and do-it-all franchise player, the Wolves will be facing an uphill battle. They are extremely reliant on Edwards to create offense, and without him, they will struggle to find enough points to keep up with the Nuggets.
Hopefully, this isn’t a long-term injury for Edwards, and he’ll be back in action shortly. But there’s no question, the Nuggets are dodging a bullet by facing this team on short rest and without their best player.