NBA Rescinds Anthony Edwards Technical Foul for Taunting in Timberwolves-Nuggets

The NBA admitted officials were wrong after conducting a league review on this controversial play.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA officially rescinded a technical foul called on Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards after completing a league review Sunday.

The foul occurred in the third quarter of the Timberwolves' 106–99 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. After driving to the hoop for a layup, Edwards stared down Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson for a brief moment and was quickly whistled for a technical foul.

Edwards was stunned. So were NBA analysts Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller on the TNT broadcast.

"No, Courtney (Kirkland)! I'm sorry!" Miller said on the microphone. "We're in the second round of the playoffs. Emotions are always gonna be high."

"That's awful. You can't celebrate someone for being a dog and then we call a technical on a staredown," Crawford added.

Ant got called for a technical on this play 😳 pic.twitter.com/Nu1Yd01l9n

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 5, 2024

Former NBA star Charles Barkley also wasn't happy with the call.

"Hey, Mr. Official. Nobody came to see your a-- play," Barkley said on TNT's Inside the NBA. "Stop giving taunting technicals in the game. Nobody came to see you. You give a kid a warning. You don't call no taunting technicals in the playoffs. Don't do that."

The NBA correcting the call resets Edwards's playoff total technical foul count to zero, noteworthy because the league suspends players after seven technical fouls in a single postseason. Edwards racked up 15 technical fouls during the regular season.

The Timberwolves and Nuggets will continue their series Monday in Game 2 at Ball Arena.