Anthony Edwards Says He's Not Hurt By Wolves' NBA Playoff Exit, 'It's Exciting For Me'

After his second straight disappointing playoff exit in the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards had a unique answer when asked about the level of hurt he's experiencing.

Edwards explained that he's confident he will get more chances to exceed this level because his NBA career is still in the early stages, so he feels more hurt for veteran players like 37-year-old point guard Mike Conley than for himself.

"I don't know why people would think it would hurt. It's exciting for me," Edwards said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I'm 23. I get to do it a whole bunch of times. I'm hurt more so for Mike. I came up short for Mike. We tried last year, we couldn't get it. We tried again this year. We'll try again next year. But hurt is a terrible word to use. I'm good."

Conley had his 18th NBA season come to an end with a blowout 124-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the conference finals on Wednesday night. Edwards, who was in his fifth season in the league, scored 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting and 1-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the loss.

While Edwards' confidence is to be admired, it won't be as easy to climb to the mountaintop as he thinks. The West is expected to be ultra-competitive once again next season as other contending teams reload to chase an NBA championship.

This offseason will be crucial for the Timberwolves to try to add talent around Edwards if they hope to keep pace with the rest of the conference in 2025-26.