Anthony Edwards’ All-NBA odds looking up with latest report

The Minnesota Timberwolves already have much to be excited about headed into next season. Trade rumors are swirling with talk of a potential big move on the horizon. But even if no roster moves are made between now and October, Wolves fans should be optimistic about the team’s direction.

Minnesota went toe-to-toe with the eventual NBA champions in round one of the playoffs, and they did so while playing without two of their most important players in Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. And as always, the primary reason for hope within the Timberwolves organization is the generational talent of Anthony Edwards.

Coming off a season where he averaged 24.6 points per game and played elite defense while putting up career-high numbers nearly across the board, Edwards was already poised to make a leap to the All-NBA teams next season. But with the latest breaking news from around the league, Ant will be looking at better odds than ever of making his first All-NBA appearance in 2023-24.

The latest news will increase Anthony Edwards’ All-NBA odds.

On Friday morning, Shams Charania reported that the NBA will be suspending Ja Morant without pay for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season. The suspension stems from Morant’s incident from last month where he appeared on an Instagram live displaying a gun.

With this being Morant’s second time making this mistake, the suspension was understandably more lengthy than the eight-game suspension he received the first time around. His absence for the first third of the season is significant in that it will disqualify him for winning any season awards, and will make him ineligible to appear on the All-NBA teams.

Ja Morant is now ineligible to appear on the All-NBA teams in 2023-24.

Per the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will take effect at the beginning of next season, players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for All-NBA honors. The length of Ja Morant’s suspension will automatically put him out of those conversations next season, no matter how well he performs on the court.

In addition, the new CBA also made All-NBA voting positionless going forward, meaning players can not be left off simply due to there being an abundance of talent at one position. Both these caveats look to benefit Anthony Edwards tremendously next season.

Edwards will have one less competitor for All-NBA with Morant out of the picture. And as talented as the Western Conference is in the backcourt, Ant will not be able to be snubbed from All-NBA because of an overcrowding at the guard position. All things considered, Anthony Edwards looks poised to become the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first All-NBA selection since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2021-22.