Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-88 at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night. It was a grind. Physical, low-scoring and uncomfortable from start to finish. Edwards closed it out when Minnesota needed him to, as he has done all season.
But by the time the ball was tipped, the most important moment of the night had already happened.
Before the game, Edwards had already received the news he had been waiting fourteen months to hear. Luca Wright, the seven-year-old boy who handed him an orange wristband in a Detroit locker room in January 2025, is cancer free.
Edwards Responds to the News
Edwards reacted to the news in a video posted to social media shortly after. The emotion was immediate.
“I was turned up,” Edwards said. “Slick told me earlier today before the game so… I was like yeah that’s dope, that’s God’s gift man. So let’s do it Luca.”
The wristband was never just a gesture for Edwards. It was a promise. He has worn it through every game since that night in Detroit, through playoff runs, through everything. Thursday was the news he had been hoping for since the moment he slipped it on.
The Night It All Started
For Edwards, this story has a deeper dimension than most people realise. The No. 5 on his jersey is a tribute to his mother Yvette and grandmother Shirley, both lost to cancer when he was 14 years old. Both passed on the fifth day of the month.
When a six-year-old boy with leukemia handed him an orange wristband in Detroit, it was not just a kind gesture from a fan. It landed differently.
Luca was five years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia in December 2023. Through the efforts of social media influencer Zachery Dereniowski, Luca and his father ended up courtside in Detroit on January 4 for a Timberwolves-Pistons game. A post-game meeting with Edwards had been arranged behind the scenes.
Luca came prepared. He brought orange leukemia awareness wristbands that read “Love Like Luca” and a handwritten sign with a simple to-do list. “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”
Edwards had just scored 53 points in a losing effort. He was frustrated. He came out of the locker room anyway, crouched down to Luca’s level and slipped the wristband over his hand.
“I’ll wear this for the rest of my career,” he told the boy.
He has. Every game since.
GettyMinnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
More Than a Wristband for the Timberwolves
The orange bracelet became something larger than anyone in the Wright family anticipated. Edwards wore it into every game, every playoff series, every moment where the stakes were highest. Wolves fans noticed. The story spread far beyond Detroit.
Lacey Wright, Luca’s mother watched it all unfold. “Never, ever did we dream that Ant would put it on and be like, ‘You know what, buddy, I’m gonna wear this for you,'” she said. “It’s just been amazing, and Luca watches and he loves that. He talks about him daily.”
When the wristband snapped from Edwards’ wrist during Game 4 of the first-round series against the Lakers last April, Wolves fans held their breath online. It did not matter. Replacements had been kept on the bench all season, just in case.
Final Word for the Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards got the news before tipoff on Thursday and went out and won a basketball game. That is who he is.
The orange wristband has been on his wrist for every game and every moment since that night in Detroit. He made a promise to Luca and did not take it off once.
Minnesota is 36-23 and right where they want to be in the playoff race. But Thursday night was about something else entirely. Luca Wright beat cancer. Edwards called it God’s gift. It was hard to argue with him.
Luca did it.
Anthony Edwards Gets Incredible News About Young Fan Luca