Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said he dapped up San Antonio Spurs players and coaches with roughly eight minutes left in Game 6 because he wanted to handle the sportsmanship on his own terms rather than after the final buzzer in a lopsided loss.
The Spurs eliminated the Timberwolves with a 139-109 victory on May 15 at Target Center, winning the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2. With the outcome long decided and the Wolves trailing by more than 30 points, Edwards walked to the Spurs bench during a timeout and shook hands with players and staff.
Edwards addressed the moment in comments that circulated widely this week.
“I feel like everybody has their own opinion,” Edwards said. “I didn’t want to dap them up at all, but then what would they be saying about me? It would have been a whole other conversation. I gave them the respect they deserve.”
He continued: “I could’ve waited until the end of the game, that’s some people’s perspective, but I did what I did. That’s why I’m me and y’all are whoever y’all are.”
Edwards explained that playoff series winners typically celebrate at the end while the losing team is frustrated. He preferred to get the interaction out of the way while the game was still going rather than force a postgame moment.
Anthony Edwards on dapping up the Spurs players with 8 minutes left:
“I was like ‘let me go ahead and congratulate these boys because I’m not going to be laughing with y’all after you whooped my ass.’ I didn’t want to go dap them n***** up at all. But then what would they have… pic.twitter.com/G7mXh6HHiR
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 23, 2026
The gesture drew immediate attention and criticism from analysts on the NBA on Prime broadcast. Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki called it strange and said he had never seen a player do that with eight minutes remaining. Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem also questioned the timing, with Haslem saying he would not have done it as a leader while his team was still on the floor.
Social media reaction was mixed.
Some users defended Edwards’ honesty and viewed the move as calculated self-awareness.
“I love how hes just so real. you can tell he says whats on his mind. not no PR BS,” one user posted.
“Ant got that killer mentality, Respect first… smoke later,” another wrote.
Others were less charitable.
“Loser mentality. And he never had accountability of how awful he played,” one commenter said.
Edwards finished with 24 points, three steals and two rebounds in the elimination game. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 32 points and 11 rebounds.
Edwards has said the two teams could develop a budding rivalry and that the Wolves “will be back.”
The Timberwolves’ season ended with the series loss. Edwards is expected to remain a focal point for Minnesota as the franchise looks ahead.
