Edwards Joins Jordan and Wilt With a 45 Point Opener

Anthony Edwards scored 45 points on 16 of 29 shooting against the Miami Heat on October 21, made 9 of 17 from three and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 131 to 106 Timberwolves win. It was his second consecutive season opener with at least 40 points, which makes him the third player in NBA history with multiple 40 point openers, behind Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

The scoreboard says a 25 point blowout. The shot chart says Edwards decided it from the perimeter before Miami found an answer.

21 Threes to 8 Is the Whole Margin

Minnesota beat Miami from beyond the arc, 21 threes to 8, and Edwards supplied 9 of them on 17 attempts. Strip those makes out and the Timberwolves lose the arithmetic of the night; a 25 point margin built on 13 more made threes does not need much help from anywhere else.

He was 16 of 29 overall, a shot diet that leaned on volume without leaning on luck. Edwards said Miami supplied some of the motivation. "A player on they bench was talkin trash," Edwards explained after the game, and the box score reads like a response to it.

The league had opened a day earlier. The 2026 to 2027 NBA season began October 20 with the Knicks as defending champions after a 4 to 1 Finals win over the Spurs, and Edwards spent the second night of it making sure Minnesota was in the conversation.

Four for Wilt, Three for Jordan, Two for Ant

Chamberlain holds the record with four season openers of 40 or more points, Jordan has three, and Edwards now has two. Before Wednesday only Chamberlain had scored 40 or more in consecutive openers, so Edwards joined him in that smaller club too.

The 10 rebounds matter for the record book. A 45 point, 10 rebound opener has been done by Chamberlain, Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Anthony Davis, and Edwards is the fifth name on that list. Edwards is 25 and has two of them already.

Count it the way a box score would: two openers, 40 or more each, and only two men with more.

Giannis Scored 35 in His Heat Debut and Lost by 25

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points in his first game for Miami, and it did not matter. The Heat made 8 threes, and the debut that was supposed to be the headline became the supporting storyline.

Minnesota had a debut of its own. LaMelo Ball played his first game in a Timberwolves uniform and finished with 21 points, five threes and six assists. Edwards was happy to say so afterward: "Me and him gonna be like best friends," he said.

Coach Chris Finch pointed to the easy looks Ball found. "He got enough good, clean looks to be able to get himself into a rhythm," Finch said. Two scorers who can each reach 20 by halftime make the 21 threes less of a surprise.

26 in the Preseason Finale, 45 When It Counted

Edwards was not at this level in October's exhibition games. NBA.com's player page lists 26 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including 5 of 8 from three, in a 122 to 104 preseason win over the Knicks, and 20 points in a 128 to 106 preseason loss to the Pistons.

The jump from 26 in the preseason to 45 on opening night is a reminder of how Edwards works. He has built a reputation on being ready for the lights, and Finch said as much after the opener: "With Anthony's mindset and abilities, he's always thrived and lived for and embraced the moments."

It fits the arc of a player whose off court season has also been loud. adidas put out the AE3 Cold Blooded on September 18, the first low top in his signature line, and the Atlanta event around his third adidas shoe, which the Players' Tribune documented.

He Asked for the Jordan Comparisons to Stop in 2024

In May 2024 Edwards told reporters he wanted the Michael Jordan comparisons to stop, a request that made headlines across SI and Fox 9. More than two years later the NBA record book has put his name in the same sentence anyway, with the stat doing the comparing.

The distinction is narrow and worth keeping. Edwards is not being compared to Jordan as a player here; he is being counted next to him in one list, season openers with at least 40, where the numbers are Chamberlain 4, Jordan 3 and Edwards 2.

Minnesota has 81 regular season games left, and Edwards has a third opener to chase next October. A third 40 point opener would tie him with Jordan at three.