Anthony Edwards has been drawing immense praise for his level of play this season and has been drawing comparisons to great players. Many NBA fans immediately compare Edwards to Michael Jordan because of slight similarities in their appearance and also their style of play as athletic, skilled two-guards.
“He's the closet thing I've seen mentally and physically to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. He has that same mentality.” @SamMitchellNBA on Anthony Edwards and Minnesota's chances in the West pic.twitter.com/lJXY4hsOmS
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 20, 2024
Some have compared him to Dwayne Wade with his mix of power and poise as he drives to the basket. But, NBA TV analyst and ex-Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell had a different comparison for Edwards. On a recent episode of NBA Gametime, Mitchell brought up the Timberwolves as a contender when speaking about if the Denver Nuggets were still the class of the West.
“I would say the team that can go deep and challenge Denver, I would say Minnesota, especially if they get Karl Anthony-Towns. If you go back to last year's playoffs, who played [the}Nuggets toughest and all the playoffs: [the] Minnesota Timberwolves. Now you got Anthony Edwards, With a year under his belt who's right now feeling himself and he's really taking off with Karl Anthony Towns being sidelined right now because…we already knew he was a star We're seeing a superstar, and then that guy Rudy Gobert eats up a lot of space, block shots, rebounds, scores inside. And then you look at all the other players on this Timberwolves team. Everybody fits their role. They play hard. And people don't understand this. Defense travels. They play D. I watched them two weeks ago against the Clippers. When the Clippers had them at 18. And they took their defense up and they flipped the Clippers and beat them by 18 in the second half.”
He then went on to show love specifically to Anthony Edwards.
“So I'm going to say Minnesota because of that dude right there. Number five from Georgia. Anthony Edwards. He's a different player. He's the closest thing I've seen. Mentally and physically to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. He has that same mentality. He's trying to get 50 every night. He's trying to dominate you. And then this is what he does that those two guys did. He's on one of the rare superstars today that plays both sides of the ball. He plays defense. I mean, he picks up, he gets into you. So what I'm seeing right now, this young man gonna be a future MVP. And he's not afraid. I still think Denver will come out the west because of the Joker, Jamal Murray, and those two bookend forwards that they got. Porter and those guys. But I think Minnesota, if they get Karl back, they can at least push him to five or six games.”
Anthony Edwards deserves all the praise that he's getting. He's had a banner year leading the Timberwolves, especially with the injuries that have plagued key players on the roster such as Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert. Edwards has averaged 26.7 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.3 steals. His play is a large reason why Minnesota currently sits at 47-22 and third in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Timberwolves will face the Cavaliers on Friday at 8 PM EST. Catch the game on NBA TV, NBA League Pass, and various local channels in Minnesota and Ohio markets.
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