Anthony Edwards finished a brutal Game 6 in Minnesota with 24 points on 9-of-26 shooting, while Julius Randle went 1-of-8 for three points as the San Antonio Spurs closed out the Timberwolves by 30 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. The moment First Take wanted to talk about, however, was not the box score. It was a handshake.
With roughly eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the game effectively decided, Edwards crossed half-court during a timeout to dap up Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson and the entire visiting bench, including Victor Wembanyama. Edwards explained afterward.
"I mean, at that point, you ain't going back in, so you just trying to get them the respect they deserve," Edwards said.
Kendrick Perkins, on First Take Monday morning, took the position that Edwards owed no one an explanation.
"Hell no. Issue for what? Why? He knew he was coming out the game," Perkins said. "Anybody that is questioning Anthony Edwards' leadership, his heart, his mentality because of that moment, because he's just showing respect because the better team won and they kicked their ass, they got a problem."
Perkins emphasised the context, that Edwards had returned from a hyperextended knee earlier in the series and had spent Game 6 playing through what Perkins called "two hurt knees that had two knee braces on," leaving everything on the floor for a team that did not match his effort.
Stephen A. Smith refused to land on either extreme.
"Two things can be true," Smith said. "Anthony Edwards under no circumstances should be questioned as a leader. His greatness, his commitment he's my favourite player in the NBA to watch him and Steph Curry, I say that religiously. I love the brother."
But Smith insisted that timing matters, and pointed to former Miami Heat captain Udonis Haslem, who was working as a studio analyst on Prime when the moment happened. "There's still a time and a place for everything. The reality is that giving love to my brother Udonis Haslem he pointed out how that's not something you do with eight minutes left in the game. You could have waited till the end of the game and then walked down there and did the exact same thing."
Smith framed the moment as evidence of Edwards' frustration with his teammates rather than his admiration for the Spurs, citing the closing-quarter clips ESPN ran of Julius Randle wandering off the ball as Stephon Castle slammed home wide-open dunks. "It wasn't just about the respect for the San Antonio Spurs. It was also about his disgust with the results, his disgust with his teammates, his disgust with the outcome and how these cats didn't show up the way that they were supposed to on their home turf."
Jay Williams, the third panel voice, used the segment to frame it as a developmental milestone. "I still think we're watching the evolution of Anthony Edwards as a leader. I think it's safe for us to say that for as dynamic as he is, for as competitive as he is, there's still room for him to continue to grow into the player we know he can ultimately be."
Williams ran a montage of Randle plays where the Timberwolves forward simply did not box out, did not contest, did not turn around, including a transition possession on which he never bothered to follow the ball. Williams concluded the segment with the suggestion that Edwards' walk across the floor was less surrender than indictment of his locker room.
Perkins was not moved. He recalled LeBron James dapping up the Spurs bench in a closeout loss during his own career and argued that any leader who plays to the final whistle has earned the right to choose his own farewell. Smith conceded the point but kept circling back to Haslem's framing: respect is owed, but timing is everything.
