Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards somehow misses 25-under-25 list
By Ben Beecken
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was the runner-up to last year’s Rookie of the Year award. He was legitimately one of the league’s best scorers over the final few weeks of the season and turned in the dunk of the year, too.
Yet, somehow, he failed to make FanSided’s 25-under-25 list. Let’s try to figure this one out together.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards misses 25-under-25 list
FanSided is in the process of releasing the 25-under-25 list, but as the back-end of the rankings were being announced, Ian Levy also put out his 25-under-25: The best of the rest, which featured players ranked from No. 26 to 30.
Edwards landed at No. 29. Frankly, it’s a mild shock that he didn’t rank higher on this list.
To be clear, this is still impressive for a player who played his entire rookie season as a 19-year-old.
Consider other players on the “best of the rest” list. All four have two NBA seasons under their belt compared to Edwards’ one. PJ Washington is 23 years old, Matisse Thybulle is 24, and Lu Dort, who finished behind Edwards at No. 30, is 22 years old. Tyler Herro was also a one-and-done college player but is 21 and, again, has played two seasons as a pro.
On the portion of the top 25 that has been released, we see fourth-year players Collin Sexton (No. 25), Kevin Huerter (No. 24), and Gary Trent, Jr., (No. 23) right off the bat.
In fact, the only other player entering their sophomore season in the NBA that has been listed through No. 16 is Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton — who finished behind Edwards in Rookie of the Year voting, by the way. Presumably, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball will be somewhere in the top 15 as well.
Which brings us to the next point … how did Cade Cunningham land at No. 18 on this list? While he’s this year’s No. 1 overall pick, he hasn’t played a single minute on an NBA floor, and he’s ranked ahead of a guy who put up 19.3 points per game in his rookie season?
Other players that probably should not be ahead of Edwards include the aforementioned Sexton (No. 25), Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., who played in just 11 games last season but landed at No. 19, and well, a few players who have much smaller roles on their respective teams.
While players like Haliburton and Trent Jr. were technically better players last season in their roles, much more was asked of Edwards. And once he became a starter, Edwards delivered.
Remember, over the final 10 weeks of his rookie season, Edwards scored 23.6 points per game on shooting splits of 45.1 percent from the floor, 34.1 percent on 3-point attempts, and 76.5 percent from the free throw line.
That’s not simply a game or two. That’s a real progression line showing genuine improvement.
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Assuming that it continues into 2020-21, then ranking Edwards No. 29 on this list is, well, genuinely laughable.