"Inside The NBA" might soon be on its last legs, but it's still making memories, including one that's helping out with tourism campaign for the city of Minnesota.
After the Minnesota Timberwolves won a grueling Game 7 on Sunday, May 19 to advance to the Western Conference Finals, the team's star Anthony Edwards had a postgame interview with the "Inside The NBA" crew.
Charles Barkley started his question by telling Edwards that he has not been to Minnesota in "probably 20 years" with the crew set to cover the series in the Midwestern state.
"Bring ya ass," the fiery Edwards promptly responded to Barkley.
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The playful exchange led to Edwards saying he'd find Barkley's number and send him a list of restaurants to try in the city.
But the city has quickly embraced their star basketball player's statements, as the Explore Minnesota X (formerly Twitter) account put out a tweet the next morning quoting Edwards.
However, in true Midwestern fashion, the tweet censored the word "ass," a word that isn't even censored on national television.
Minnesota is ready for you, basketball fans! 🏀 Let's go, @Timberwolves! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/AXz4RR1tdW
— Explore Minnesota (@exploreminn) May 20, 2024
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Chris Morgan, a spokesman for Explore Minnesota told Front Office Sports that the city is "trying to capitalize" on the buzz from Edwards.
“We have a group chat among the staff, and immediately after the game and well into the late hours of Sunday night, we were all saying, ‘We have to do something with this,'" Morgan told FOS.
Major sports teams and sports stars are often some of the biggest draws of cities, big or small. But for Minnesota, having Edwards is certainly the dream as the Timberwolves were one of the most futile franchises in the NBA through the first two decades of the 2000s while its other major men's sports teams have also faced their fare share of heartbreak.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz even declared Wednesday, May 22 as "Wolves Back Day" and posted an incredible proclamation for the city as it gears up for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Bring it on Dallas. #WolvesBack pic.twitter.com/1DoTgdGL5C
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 22, 2024
If you look at the first letter of each statement above, it spells out "Bring Ya Ass."
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As for "Inside The NBA," this is the second time in the last few weeks that antics on "Inside The NBA" have led to a city using it for their tourism. In late April, Barkley took shots at the beaches in Galveston, Texas leading to a response from the city's tourism official travel guide "Visit Galveston."
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