No matter what ups and downs the Minnesota Timberwolves may go through, fans can always take comfort in the fact that Anthony Edwards is here to stay in the Twin Cities. Having just signed his extension with the franchise a month ago, the multi-talented Edwards is committed for the long haul.
After a stellar third professional season, it is becoming harder and harder for the national NBA audience to ignore Ant Man’s greatness. With elite athleticism and a stellar feel for the game on both sides of the floor, Edwards is on a legitimate path to superstardom in this league.
Turning 22 years old this week, Ant still has a lot of room to grow. He is already making the Timberwolves more relevant than they have been since the Kevin Garnett days, and he will only continue to get better.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that there is yet another reason for Wolves fans to be excited about Anthony Edwards this coming season. Shams Charania reported that Ant will officially be changing his jersey number from number one to number five.
JUST IN: Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards is changing his jersey number to No. 5.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 1, 2023
“Whole different player” – Sitdown at @Stadium on decision to change from No. 1 to 5, goals for next season, aiming to push Karl-Anthony Towns to MVP-type year and more: pic.twitter.com/N9QR07FCbs
Anthony Edwards is changing his jersey number to from 1 to 5.
After spending the first three seasons of his career wearing number one, Edwards will officially return to the number he wore throughout high school and college with number five. While this may seem like a minor change, Edwards explained that this is something he has wanted to do for some time.
When Ant was drafted by the Timberwolves in November 2020, Malik Beasley was in possession of the number five jersey. While Edwards was probably already a better player at the time, he ultimately did not end up taking the number from his older teammate and chose the number one instead.
Last summer, Kyle Anderson signed with the Wolves in free agency and picked up the number five since his preferred number one was already in use by Edwards. Now, it appears the two are ready to swap jerseys and return to wearing their respective preferred numbers.
When asked what fans would see from number five Anthony Edwards that they have not seen before, Edwards answered, “A lot of athleticism, a lot more dunks. Just a different level of play, because I have my number on my back now.”
That is plenty of reason for Wolves fans to look forward to this new chapter for Ant.