Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been on a tear as of late in the NBA Playoffs. After sweeping the Suns in the first round, Edwards and company look to continue their run.
Some have compared Anthony Edwards playoff performances to that of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and his post game interviews reflect it. The kind of aura that comes off of Edwards is similar to that of the ‘Mamba Mentality’ from Kobe and Jordan. His performance in the series sweep of the Suns had a few Jordan esk moments, namely when he hit a jumper and two threes on back to back to back possessions over Kevin Durant, one of his heroes growing up.
Another moment that opened the eyes of people on the outside looking in was when during an interview with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter Edwards said, “ I just want to kill everything in front of me.” This was funny to Scott Van Pelt but it was pretty clear that he wasn’t really joking, he wanted to to win and that’s all he wanted to do. This is a mindset that a lot of players have, but not many have the talent to really reflect it and go make it happen on the court. But Anthony Edwards, at the age of 22, has already drawn the attention from some of the greats, gotten comparison to the best of the best.
Edwards signed to go to college at Georgia as a five star recruit, and on of the best in his class. He was the highest rated prospect in the program’s history. He was there for one season, but he was among the best for that season. He scored 24 points in his debut, but the most memorable game of his college career was when he scored 37 points, 33 in the second half, in an eight point loss to third ranked Michigan State in Maui, Hawaii. It was clear Edwards would be special. He declared for the NBA Draft after the season, and was selected first overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
It was clear he was going to be special from the early years, but it’s so hard to tell just how good he would be when he was that young. Now, at just 22, in his fourth year, Edwards is rising to the top and could soon be the face of the league. It will be fun to see how the young man performs as the pressure continues to pile up and the moments get that much bigger. Will he continue to rise to the occasion? Time will tell.
