It was a fitting way to set the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise record.

Anthony Edwards had already tied the franchise record for 3-pointers made all-time that was held by Karl-Anthony Towns. Then midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday afternoon’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Edwards pulled up from the center-court logo. Swish. That was the 976th made 3 of his career, more than any other player in Wolves history.

Edwards didn’t even know he accomplished the feat.

“I thought they were saying most 3s attempted,” Edwards said in his postgame interview — the Wolves beat the Nuggets 133-104 — on ESPN, referring to a tribute the Wolves displayed on the video board when he broke the record. On what the shooting adds to his game: “It helps a lot because now teams got to get up, and I’m able to get downhill a little easier when I’m taking on one defender. It makes them respect my shot a lot more, so I appreciate all my trainers for that.”

Edwards wasn’t considered a great shooter earlier in his career. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the prevailing thought when he first arrived in Minnesota was that Edwards was a streaky shooter or maybe even a little below average. But in his second season coaching Edwards, Finch realized he was a much better shooter than even Edwards let on.

“And it’s just been, he’s just had to commit to it, just find opportunities to catch and shoot,” Finch said of Edwards. “The dribble 3, we’ve talked about that, it’s real. In year two or so, we started to figure out that was real. And then it was just encouraging him to keep taking these shots because he’s really good at them.” 

How the times have changed. What once may have been considered a weakness in his game is a strength that’s forcing teams to adjust. That fourth-quarter 3-pointer wasn’t only the 976th make of his career, it was Edwards’ 187th make this season, which leads the NBA. Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat has the second-most makes in the league from deep at 167.

The first thing Nuggets coach Michael Malone mentioned pregame on Saturday when discussing the challenges in defending the Wolves was Edwards, his shooting and the shooting of the players surrounding him.

“He’s such a dynamic athlete, it doesn’t really sound right when you say you want him to play inside the 3-point line because he’s so athletic and so powerful,” Malone said of Edwards. “But simple math, you want to take away the 3-point shot as best as possible. … But it’s a hell of a challenge because he’s so dynamic and he can get anywhere on the court that he wants to, and that’s what makes him so hard to guard.”

Edwards, who was questionable for the game due to illness, put up 34 points and nine assists just a few short hours later.