Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the Starting Five

Small Forward: Anthony Edwards

Another obvious pick here, Anthony Edwards is a dynamic scorer and finished as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting for the 2020-21 NBA season. He averaged 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists over the full 72-game season last year, with shooting splits of 42/33/78.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the starting five

Edwards brings a skill that the Timberwolves don’t have within their other perimeter players: elite rim finishing. Despite Edwards progress as a shooter and mid-range scorer over the course of last season, his best trait was always his ability to finish through contact, boasting a shooting percentage of 65-percent at the rim, where about 31-percent of his shot attempts came.

When push came to shove, Edwards was able to put the ball on the floor and score against almost anyone in the paint – including bigger players. There still are things he has to work on (yes, it is important to acknowledge the progress Edwards made following the All-Star break) including his shooting and defensive attentiveness. Even without those things, though, Edwards is already on an All-Star trajectory – and might already be the Timberwolves’ most valuable asset.

With an actual full season to work on his skills, Edwards is one of the best players on a promising young team – one that already had players such as Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.

Even if Edwards does not improve from his form towards the end of his rookie year, he will be a tremendously positive basketball player that brings value in a variety of ways from the wing.