No NBA star has enjoyed a better postseason to date than Anthony Edwards.
The Timberwolves guard wowed basketball fans with his efforts in Minnesota’s sweep of the Phoenix Suns. He dropped 40 points to complete the four-game sweep of Kevin Durant’s latest super-team and give the Timberwolves their first playoff series win since 2004.
The buzz only grew louder after Edwards fueled the Timberwolves to a 106-99 win over the Nuggets in Game 1 of their series. Edwards dropped 43 points in the victory and joined Kobe Bryant as the only two players in NBA history to record back-to-back 40-point playoff games at age 22 or younger.
Edwards hasn’t minded the attention that has come with his stellar performances, but there is one element of which he is tired: being compared to Michael Jordan.
“I want it to stop,” Edwards said when asked about the Jordan comparisons by Fox Sports. “He’s the greatest of all time. I can’t be compared to him.”
Anthony Edwards, Michael Jordan comparisons
The comparisons between Edwards and Jordan have seemingly been endless. Former players, like Kevin Garnett and Charles Barkley, have been among those to point out the similarities between the two.
“He’s like a young ’84 Jordan,” Garnett said of Edwards. “I’m watching how he’s coming through the lane … he turn the corner, if you ain’t there, he’s throwing you in.”
Barkley’s comparison came when addressing Edwards telling ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt that he wanted to “kill everything in front of me.”
“It reminded me so much of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, they would kill you to win a game,” Barkley said. “It’s not many players in today’s game — everybody wants to be buddy-buddy.
“Anthony Edwards is [putting] everybody on notice. ‘Yeah, I’m not going to wait for y’all to give me anything. I’m going to take it all.’ I love it.”
What issue does Edwards take with the comparisons? Is he trying to avoid the weight of lofty expectations sinking him?
“No, no pressure,” Edwards told Fox Sports. “It’s just not possible.”
Edwards has a point. After all, Jordan won six championships during his NBA career and led the league in scoring 10 times — including a span of seven straight seasons from 1986-87 to 1992-93.
As good as Edwards has been, he’s still just in his fourth season and has just one playoff series win. Thus, it’s early to compare the two — even if some undeniable similarities exist between their games.
Anthony Edwards: Face of the NBA?
Regardless of Edwards’ opinion, it appears that the 22-year-old is on a crash course toward becoming one of the faces of the league.
How exactly does he feel about that? He remains focused on one thing: winning.
“I don’t really care,” Edwards told Fox Sports. “Whoever they make the face of the league — they don’t pick me or if they pick me — it doesn’t really bother me. I’m just trying to win with my teammates. I don’t really care about being the face of the league. If my team could be the face of the league, that would be great.”
Of course, if Edwards continues to lead the Timberwolves to victory, he will move closer and closer to becoming the face of the league.
He believes that can happen as soon as this postseason.
“A healthy Timberwolves team, I see us winning the championship this year,” he said.
