Patrick Beverley is in the midst of his 12th NBA season. Given that impressive longevity, it's safe to assume the Philadelphia 76ers guard knows exactly how starters for the All-Star Game are chosen. Then again, you'd also think a loudmouth competitor like Beverley would have an accurate grasp of the league-wide standings—especially when it comes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, his favorite former team.
Beverley conveyed otherwise on the most recent episode The Pat Bev Podcast, expressing incredulity at Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards missing out on being named an All-Star starter in the Western Conference.
“My thing is, how no one from the No. 1 team in the NBA is starting in the All-Star Game? Anthony Edwards should be starting! What are you talking about?” he said. “They're the No. 1 team in the NBA. I don't understand. It makes no sense. They're literally the No. 1 team in the NBA, he's the best player on the team.”
Patrick Beverley's Anthony Edwards All-Star argument doesn't hold water
No one is disputing Edwards as Minnesota's clear-cut best player. Rudy Gobert's renaissance is the driving force behind the Wolves' top-ranked defense, but Edwards is the straw that stirs the drink on the other end while doubling as a disruptive, impactful—if somewhat inconsistent—perimeter defender.
Minnesota's offensive rating is a whopping 10.9 points better with Edwards on the floor, a mark that ranks in the 97th percentile league-wide, per Cleaning the Glass. That's no accident. Chris Finch's team would be doomed offensively without the imminent pressure Edwards puts on the opposition as an explosive attacker, tough shot-maker and improving playmaker—distinctions hard to come by given the Wolves' lack of overall spacing and shooting.
But is Edwards, with a 58.5 true shooting percentage sitting just above league average and whose all-around decision-making as a primary creator still comes into frequent question, really having a better season than Western Conference backcourt starters Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Neither fans, players nor media thought so.
Edwards finished fourth in the aggregate starter voting among Western Conference guards, behind Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Stephen Curry. Fans voted him fifth, Edwards' fellow players ranked him third and media had him at third.
The concrete case Beverley makes for Edwards deserving a starting nod in the All-Star Game just doesn't hold water—particularly given his misunderstanding of Minnesota's place in the standings. The 34-15 Wolves are tied atop the Western Conference with Gilgeous-Alexander's Oklahoma City Thunder and three games back of the Boston Celtics for the label as the “No. 1 team in the NBA” Beverley mistakenly applies to Minnesota.
Net rating doesn't do the team aspect of Beverley's argument for Edwards any favors, either. The Timberwolves' +5.7 net rating ranks sixth in basketball, behind the Celtics, Thunder, Sixers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Edwards is already one of the 15-20 best players in the world at worst, with ample room to grow. Minnesota has wildly exceeded expectations in 2023-24 and boasts a bright future despite some tough financial decisions to make this summer precisely because Edwards has emerged as a worthwhile franchise cornerstone. It's within the realm of realistic possibility he leads the Timberwolves to their first ever championship some day.
But Edwards is not having a better season than Doncic or Gilgeous-Alexander individually, and Minnesota's team success isn't quite the trump card Beverley makes it out to be. Good on PatBev for championing his guy, though.
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