The Minnesota Timberwolves have been up and down during the 2025-26 season, as they've had a handful of winning streaks, but also some slumps along the way. Entering Wednesday's NBA slate, the Timberwolves sit at 15-9, which has them as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, right ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who defeated them in their last contest.

The Timberwolves have had to rely heavily on offensive contributions from Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle at times this season, in large part due to the lack of contributions elsewhere, especially on the bench. However, the Timberwolves got a breakout performance from Bones Hyland, who scored 14 points and could be a bench option for the team going forward.

Anthony Edwards Shares High Praise For Hyland

When asked about Hyland's performance, Edwards was very complimentary and even had some high praise for the 25-year-old guard.

"I've been a fan of him for the last three years...I watch him work out. He work out with me. I watch him play...If you've seen him play, you know he's incredible at basketball. So, just a matter of time until he gets out there, and he showed why he belonged tonight," Edwards said.

Hyland's 14 points against the Phoenix Suns were his highest total in a regular season game since December 8th, 2024, when he had 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting in a loss to the Houston Rockets. Hyland showed flashes of being a quality reserve for years to come when he started off with the Denver Nuggets, and now he will look to bounce back with the Timberwolves.

"Everything," Edwards said regarding what he likes about Hyland's game. "Sometimes you could just see some people just are meant to be a star. I feel like I may not know the criteria to being a star, but if I think I do, I think he's one of them."

A lack of opportunity has been a big reason why Hyland hasn't been consistent in the NBA. In career games he's played in 20-29 minutes, he's averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.1 rebounds while boasting a 62.1 TS%. When you bump it up to 30-39 minutes, his averages jump to 18.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.7 rebounds on 62.3 TS%.

The problem is that Hyland has played just 70 career games where he's logged between 20 and 39 minutes, and he's drastically less efficient when he plays between 0 and 19 minutes, having a true shooting percentage less than 50%.

Mike Conley has struggled at times at being the backup point guard, and perhaps Bones Hyland could jump into that role.