Cuban apparently played a key role in the Timberwolves star’s decision to change his free-throw form.
According to Anthony Edwards, Mark Cuban played a key role in the Timberwolves star’s decision to change his free-throw routine.
After Minnesota’s 119-115 win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, Edwards told reporters that comments from “some famous guy” brought attention to his free-throw form. In the past, Edwards would take a step forward as he followed through on his free throws.
“Some famous guy went on Instagram or went on a podcast and was talking about my free throws and he brought it to the attention of everybody so I had to change it,” Edwards said.
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While it appeared he tried to keep his comments vague, Edwards later mentioned Cuban as the influence behind his change. Cuban, the longtime Mavericks governor-turned-minority owner, responded to Edwards’ comments through a social media post on Sunday morning.
“This has nothing to do with Ant. It was the fact that @NBAOfficial s chose not to make an easy call,” Cuban wrote on X/Twitter. “That’s the issue. It’s not Adam Silver telling them what to call or not. They just decide themselves.”
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Cuban said he initially brought up the free-throw issue to the NBA’s head of officials two years ago in a previous Mavericks-Timberwolves matchup. Cuban apparently saw Edwards step over the line on his free-throw attempts, so he brought it up to officials. He said referees ignored his claims.
Cuban notably drew attention to Edwards’ free-throw form in September when he appeared on an episode of the “Road Trippin'” podcast. In the episode, Cuban said stepping over the line on free throws was “the easiest call for a referee.”
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On Sunday, Cuban once again focused his message on officiating and how certain things need to change moving forward.
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“So many changes in officiating that have changed the game dramatically, like using contact to create space for a shot. That wasn’t in the game till recently. It wasn’t a directive from Adam Silver,” Cuban said.
“All the fouls that started getting called mid season 2 years ago and have accelerated further now so that FTs are skyrocketing. That doesn’t come from the top. It comes from the officials. I don’t even think it’s an organized decision. If they make a call, or don’t, and they don’t want it identified as a miss, they just keep doing it.”
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