Get your head in the game

Anthony Edwards flies to the rescue.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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On the day that the Timberwolves announced that All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns had a meniscus tear and would miss at least a month of action — with about a month left in the regular season — Anthony Edwards left Minnesota’s game against Indiana just seconds in with a turned ankle.

He came back.

Then toward the end of the first quarter he took a hard fall and went back to the locker room.

He came back.

By the end of the game that tested Timberwolves fans’ hearts, he had not just come back but put the team in position to have a chance at the end. In the final 18 minutes of play, neither the Wolves or the Pacers led by more than five points. Edwards racked up 44 points, including a number of ridiculously clutch buckets down the stretch.

But a defensive play was head and shoulders above everything we witnessed.

After missing a free throw, he sprinted back as Aaron Nesmith went for the tie. Edwards jumped so high on the chasedown block that he hit his head on the backboard. It’s only the most athletic plays I’ve ever seen.

Moments later, he talked about it:

I hit my head, I think on the rim, it’s hurting real bad, and I landed on my wrist. But I mean, you know, I saw him with the lane, I knew he was going for the layup. And I was just like, I’m fixing to go get this. I ain’t ever jumping that high in my life!

The interview is a great look at what makes a natural star in this sport.

He cares. He’s happy. He’s smiling. This matters to him. Winning matters to him. Excellence matters to him. He knows that jumping so high you almost knock yourself out on the backcourt to get a block is cool as hell, and he embraces it. The nexus of athleticism, joy and cool is universal. Everyone can love this.

That’s what makes a star.

In any case, luxuriate in the full highlight reel, because the dude had 44 points to go with his miracle block.

No one knows what’s in store for the Timberwolves over the next few month or years. But this is the brightest things have looked in decades, if not ever.