$39.5B brand dishes savage reaction to Anthony Edwards' playoff poster decimation on Lakers' Jaxson Hayes

Anthony Edwards dunks on Jaxson Hayes - Source: Imagn

Adidas showed full support for Anthony Edwards after his explosive dunk over Jaxson Hayes in Game 2 of the Minnesota Timberwolves' first-round series against the LA Lakers on Tuesday.

The highlight came just over a minute into the third quarter. Edwards, catching the ball beyond the arc, found an open lane to the rim. As Hayes stepped in to challenge, Edwards rose up and threw it down with both hands.

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Adidas Basketball — the brand under Adidas, which carries a $39.5 billion market cap according to Bloomberg and releases Anthony Edwards' AE line — reacted to the poster dunk with a post on X:

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“MAN DOWN!”

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While the dunk lit up Crypto.com Arena and brought energy to the Timberwolves, it wasn’t enough to carry them to a win, as the team struggled to find rhythm on offense.

In Game 1, Minnesota torched the nets, hitting 21 of 42 from 3-point range to set a new franchise playoff record en route to a 117-95 upset of the No. 3 seed Lakers.

But in Game 2, their shooting cooled off drastically. The Timberwolves went just 5-for-25 from deep, with only Julius Randle (27 points) and Anthony Edwards (25 points) reaching double figures in scoring.

Just three Timberwolves players made a 3-pointer, and only two shot better than 50 percent from the field.

Anthony Edwards discusses Timberwolves returning to Minnesota for Game 3

Game 3 shifts the series to Minneapolis, with tipoff set for Friday.

After the game, Edwards emphasized the need to start stronger after the Timberwolves fell behind 34-15 in the first quarter and couldn’t recover.

“We just can’t let them get off to a fast start,” Edwards said.

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Luka Doncic echoed the sentiment, saying he expects a tough road environment in Minnesota.

“We got to play the same way, same physicality. It's going to be hard. I remember playing in Minnesota, the crowd is in. They have amazing fans, and we got to stay locked in. It’s us against them,” he said.

The Timberwolves were strong at home during the regular season, going 25-16 while shooting 47.3% overall and 38.1% from deep — both improvements over their road averages.

About the author

John Ezekiel Hirro is an experienced NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda, with over five years in the field as a news correspondent, sports writer, and Editor-in-Chief. His sports writing career began in high school, where he garnered numerous accolades, including being named the national sports writing champion in 2016.

He earned his journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 2024 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsitarian, the university's official student publication, for four years—the longest in history.

A passionate basketball enthusiast, he became a fan of the OKC Thunder during the Russ-KD-Harden era. Russell Westbrook, his all-time favorite athlete, impressed him by stepping up as MVP after Kevin Durant's departure. His current favorite players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who he believes are the future of the OKC franchise.

He excels in game analysis and rapid news story turnaround, drawing inspiration from the journalistic styles of Woj and Shams. He emphasizes thorough research to ensure accuracy in his articles. One of his most memorable moments is Russell Westbrook breaking Oscar Robertson's record with his 42nd triple-double and securing a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Outside of writing, he enjoys listening to music and creating Spotify playlists.

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Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro