Analyst calls out Anthony Edwards for hugging Spurs in Game 6

Analyst calls out Anthony Edwards for hugging Spurs in Game 6 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

San Antonio finished Minnesota off 139-109 on Friday night in Game 6, and the score was the least memorable part of the evening. With 8:01 left in the fourth quarter, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards walked to the Spurs' bench and went down the line shaking hands, sharing hugs and dapping up players and coaches, including Victor Wembanyama. His team still had men on the floor, and the game was not over.

Edwards explained himself after.

"I just tip my hat to them," he said. "They're just the better team. I mean, at that point, you ain't going back in, so you're just trying to give them their respect."

ESPN analyst Ryan Clark did not agree with that reasoning. In a post on X, he said:

"I love Ant, but what he did last night? That ain't the move. That ain't the fighter. That ain't the dog. You don't walk over to another team's huddle with eight minutes left in a game down 30 plus and hug everybody and congratulate him."

What Clark's Kobe comparison reveals about competitive standards

I’m all for sportsmanship, but not surrender. Anthony Edwards sharing congratulatory hugs with 8 minutes to play wasn’t a good look.

The Bad Boys walked past MJ, Kobe full court pressed in the 4th Q of a 4-1 series blow out because competitors compete. First Luka, then Shai, &… pic.twitter.com/val4xzi4CV— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) May 16, 2026

Clark pulled two historical examples to frame what he believes competing the right way actually looks like. The first involved Isiah Thomas and the Pistons, who walked past Michael Jordan without a word after being eliminated in what became a famous passing-of-the-torch moment.

The second was Kobe Bryant in the 2004 Finals, when the Lakers trailed Detroit 3-1. He described Kobe pressing full-court in the fourth quarter of an elimination game that had already become a blowout.

"He knew eventually he was going to be the leader of that team," Clark said. "And how are people going to look at him?"

Former Heat forward and three-time champion Udonis Haslem echoed the sentiment during Amazon Prime's postgame show:

"As a leader, I would not have walked down there and shook their hands. The game is not over."