Minnesota Timberwolves rookie guard Anthony Edwards had a strong reaction to Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball winning Rookie of the Year.
Edwards reposted an Instagram story he was tagged in suggesting the young Timberwolves star was “robbed.” The initial post also tagged Ball, demanding the Hornets star “Give the trophy back and tell the truth!” in addition to some other choice words.
ANTHONY EDWARDS INSTAGRAM STORY 💀 pic.twitter.com/CthjkOxAHe
— Hana 🏀🏈🖤 (@HanaHoops) June 16, 2021
Well, “Ant” clearly feels some type of way, as is his right.
This race was a tough one to call in part because of Ball's wrist injury that cost him a chunk of time at the end of the season as well as Edwards' strong showing for the Timberwolves after the All-Star break.
Ball, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, was tremendous. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per contest and led all rookies in player efficiency rating (PER). However, he also played just 51 games, whereas Edwards played all 72 games in his debut campaign with the Timberwolves.
Edwards' advanced offensive numbers are not as Ball's. His PER (13.9) lagged well behind Ball (17.5), and he was also worth -0.3 in value over replacement player.
Context matters, though. Edwards played for a woeful Timberwolves squad, one that played long stretches of the season without Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell. He provided offense for Minnesota, leading all rookies in scoring at 19.3 points per contest while also averaging 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
Most notably, Edwards was terrific after the All-Star break. He averaged 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the second half, and his true shooting percentage saw a 10-point rise. That's a substantial rise in production.
Needless to say, Edwards has reason to feel some type of way especially given he played all 72 games.
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