It hasn't happened yet, but I think I'm just about ready to broach the conversation… is it time that we begin talking about Anthony Edwards as a legitimate MVP candidate this year? At the present moment, the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard has the 7th-shortest odds to win the Most Valuable Player per Hard Rock Bet, but those odds at 35-1, well behind MVP conversation staples like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I'm not ready to say that Edwards should be the favorite, but given the fact that Ant has only missed three games so far this season (which means he's not in danger yet of falling below the 65-game threshold to be considered for year-end awards) and is the best player on the best team in the Western Conference, I struggle to understand why he isn't getting more love.

Then there's this… Anthony Edwards, from both a statistical and eye-test perspective, has made a massive leap. His numbers are up almost across the board — he's averaging career highs in points, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, free throw attempts, and PER — and more importantly, the eye-test tells you that Edwards looks like he's ascended to a new level, and I'm not the only one who sees it.

As TNT's Kenny Smith sees it, Anthony Edwards' exceptional play is beginning to translate into wins for Minnesota, and that's the mark of a player who is evolving and reaching superstar status. When asked what the difference is this year, Edwards had a quick and reasonable response:

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The Team USA bump is not a new phenomenon. Time and time again we've seen young stars ascend to new heights after spending a summer competing alongside the best in the world. We saw Charles Barkley win his only MVP Award after playing for the Dream Team in 1992. LeBron James won the first of his four MVP Awards in 2009 after leading the Redeem Team to Gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Kobe Bryant secured his first post-Shaq NBA Championship the same year. Derrick Rose emerged as the league's MVP in 2011 after co-starring alongside Kevin Durant in the 2010 FIBA World Cup.

All I'm saying is this: given the fact that Anthony Edwards is only 22 years old, his evolution as a basketball player is just beginning. What we're seeing right now — and make no mistake, what we're seeing from Ant right now is a damn fine two-way basketball player who should be mentioned alongside every other young player who is considered to be a potential “face of the NBA” — is just Anthony Edwards scratching the surface.