“Point Ant” has been a concept discussed far more by onlookers than a practice put into play by the Timberwolves through the young guard’s first three professional seasons.

Anthony Edwards is still just 21 and only now beginning to truly discover the intricacies of the NBA game that allow someone of his caliber to be successful on a nightly basis. Bestowing the possession-by-possession offensive decision-making on the guard’s shoulders always seemed a bit unfair and, frankly, impractical.

But the past two games — and, particularly, Minnesota’s 112-110 win at Oklahoma City on Friday — made the idea of “Point Ant”, which is fitting the guard into the mold of someone like Luka Doncic or Jayson Tatum, wings who initiate and dictate the offense, look rather feasible.

Edwards took on that challenge the past two games and handled it with the proper approach. He found his teammates when necessary, getting off the ball immediately when he was double-teamed, and did all the little things required for the Timberwolves — playing without Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, D’Angelo Russell, Jordan McLaughlin and Taurean Prince — to pull out a victory despite playing without a traditional point guard.

Edwards finished with 19 points on 16 shots to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists and just two turnovers. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch noted Edwards, who saw a number of half-court traps in the fourth quarter Friday, similar to what the Clippers threw at him Wednesday, continued to progress in his knowledge of those kinds of defensive looks. Finch pointed to a play in which Edwards’ handling of that situation got teammate Naz Reid an important easy bucket in the fourth quarter in Oklahoma City.

“I think these last couple of games have been good for him to be on the ball,” Finch said. “He just tried to stay patient when they’re trying to take the ball out of your hands.”

Which isn’t easy in Edwards’ situation. The past couple of games could have been viewed as an opportunity for the guard to try to win the game by scoring 50 points given the Wolves’ injury situation. But Minnesota’s coaching staff has preached to Edwards that NBA offense is about getting two defenders guarding the ball, and allowing your teammates to take advantage of the 4-on-3 situation that creates away from you.

“No matter how you do it, pick-and-roll, trap, early gap help, all that stuff is a gravity that he creates. Just trying to continue to find the right play,” Finch said. “I thought he did a really, really good job. I thought he did a better job than the other day, and I thought he also did a good job the other day when they were trapping him. He learned from that. (Friday) was a further example of that. Playing off the catch, being shot ready, getting off of it when they trapped. He played very composed.”

Edwards repeatedly has done just that in his first significant reps in this position, which is impressive. Even without a number of its significant contributors, Minnesota looks like an offense with a plan when Edwards is on the floor. He’s using the attention he draws to create good looks for others.

“We’ve been trying to preach to Ant, it’s not how much you score, it’s how much you create,” Finch said.

That plays into Edwards’ general approach to the game. He is one of those players who truly looks and acts excited when those around him thrive. While he hasn’t been a major creator for others to this point in his career, his makeup suggests that will become a large part of his game. He is showing now that should those responsibilities be tossed onto his plate sooner than later, he can handle it.

“If you want to grow into one of the top players in the league, you’re going to have to carry that responsibility, regardless, and then you’re always going to have to keep sharing the floor with other talented players,” Finch said. “That’s one of the keys to playing at a high level is growing into your potential and then learning to share the floor with others. He, by nature, is somebody who really roots for his teammates’ success, so he’s an attacking and scoring player. But at heart, he enjoys making plays for other people.”

Pair that with the adoration his teammates share for him, along with Edwards’ increasing maturity and growing voice in the locker room and on the floor, and it only seems natural for Edwards to evolve into the type of player that runs Minnesota’s show in the near future on a full-time basis.

“That’s big for us. If he can do that every time we need him to, within doing what he’s capable of and what we need him to do, that’s big time, real big for us,” Reid said. “I believe he can, and we all believe he can. That’s a special ability, being able to lead the team that way, and it’s a big task. And I feel like he’s up to the task like that.”