After another grueling college season of coaching Gonzaga, Mark Few decided to book an offseason family vacation in Hawaii. It was the perfect location — sand, sun, waves, and NBA playoff basketball that starts at 2 p.m. local time.
“We’re yelling and screaming during these games,” Few told me, laughing.
Few has a lot of players to root for in these Conference Finals. Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard played for him at Gonzaga, as did Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. Other players have ties to him through his summers serving as an assistant coach for USA Basketball, including Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges.
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One of the most prolific of those Team USA players is Anthony Edwards. He and Few spent a combined 87 days with each other over the past two summers, culminating in a gold medal during the Paris Olympics.
“He has such an incredible, joyful spirit,” Few said of Edwards. “It’s contagious within the team structure. You can see it, feel it. He’s one-of-a-kind.”
Things looked bleak for the Wolves in the Conference Finals before a convincing 143-101 win in Game 3 over the Thunder that brought the series back to 2-1. Edwards was brilliant in that game, scoring 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field.
Edwards has been a more complete player than last season, and his experience with Few and others in the Olympics has built him up for this stage.
MORE: How Anthony Edwards became the NBA’s legend killer
Anthony Edwards Olympic experience grew him into a better player
Edwards was the youngest player on the 2024 USA Basketball team in Paris. That roster was stacked with legends of the game, and he would pick their brains constantly. Few noted how reverent he was in particular of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, the latter of whom was his childhood hero.
Edwards has cited taking the pregame routine of those three and incorporating it into his own game. He also picked up some tips from the Olympic coaching staff which served him well in Games 2 and 3 of the Conference Finals.
“I was always trying to push him to accelerate a little bit across halfcourt,” Few said. “If he can get it to four-on-three, three-on-two, he’s impossible to stop. He did it a little bit [in the past two games], and that made a big difference.”
Few and the rest of the coaching staff also tried to get Edwards playing better off-ball defense.
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“He’s such a gifted on-ball defender. It’s crazy how good he is on the ball, especially when he’s dialed in,” Few said before pointing out that Edwards only had one year of college to refine his off-ball skills.
Edwards was a raw player on that end of the floor when he first came into the league, not really understanding help responsibilities. He’s improved his focus through the Olympics, and that has carried over to the playoffs.
“He’s getting more attentive and more alert off the ball and in the gaps, making some plays,” Few said. “I used to give him one thing to focus on a day. Off-ball defense. I was kind of always on him about that.”
A key gameplan tweak that contributed to the Wolves big start to Game 3 was Anthony Edwards’ gap help presence when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the ball.
Ant brought the gap help on SGA that he is used to seeing himself. pic.twitter.com/nCG4x2YE43
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 25, 2025
One area where Edwards didn’t need any help was in his one-on-one scoring. He and the rest of his Olympic teammates would play after almost every practice.
“It would get pretty competitive. It was usually fueled by Ant getting it going by talking a little bit. That would get everybody going,” Few said, laughing.
Anthony Edwards incredible driving reverse layup, wow pic.twitter.com/i8tzegylpO
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) May 25, 2025
“He’s made a jump every year,” Few added. “He’s cutting better. He’s passing better. He’s obviously great on the ball defensively.”
The biggest lesson that Edwards learned was from Curry, as he said during the team’s media day.
“Playing without the ball…cutting, getting out of the way, and I get easy shots. I learned the most from Steph”
Edwards showed that in Game 3, running a staple floppy set that Kerr used with Curry this summer in order to get himself open for a 3.
Folks have asked for Anthony Edwards to be involved off ball and in movement an I love that Minnesota’s answer was just to run Floppy for Anthony Edwards. Leads to a 3. pic.twitter.com/1NFmRuku4z
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) May 25, 2025
What has stayed constant throughout the series is Edwards’ attitude. That’s what Few came away most impressed with after getting to know the Timberwolves star.
“He really is a great guy with a fun, positive spirit, which might not sound like much in this day and age. But it’s awesome to be around, and it was awesome to have him.”
