The entire NBA is abuzz with Anthony Edwards heroics on Team USA

The plot thickens

But nobody guessed just how extensive the transformation would be with the young NBA superstar. After all, his third season in the NBA was very impressive:

79 games | 36.0 MPG | 24.6 PPG | 36.9 3P% | 5.8 RPG | 4.4 AGP | 1.6 SPG | 0.7 BPG

But when Round 1 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs arrived, Anthony Edwards seemed to level up in front of everyone’s eyes:

5 games | 39.8 MPG | 31.6 PPG | 34.9 3P% | 5.0 RPG | 5.2 AGP | 1.8 SPG | 2.0 BPG

That’s quite an upgrade against the NBA Champion Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, the performance ended in a best-of-seven series that found the Minnesota Timberwolves packing up and going home after falling to the Nuggets 4-1.

That forced Timberwolves fans to leave the 2022-23 NBA season a bit too hungry. Initially, it seemed as though fans would need to be patient until the start of the 2023-24 NBA season. But, along came . . .

Team USA and the 2023 FIBA World Cup competition

The Timberwolves’ young shooting guard was peaking at just the right time to play a significant role for Team USA in their quest for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After all, only 32 international teams have the opportunity to compete for the World Cup, and Team USA had qualified to do so.

But Anthony Edwards is not the only player from the Minnesota Timberwolves roster who has discovered international competition. In fact, nine members of the Minnesota Timberwolves have done so in 2023, which makes the entire 2023 FIBA WC competition compelling viewing for Timberwolves fans around the globe.

So far, Team USA has played five exhibition games, and it is about to enter Round 1 of the competition beginning on August 26, 2023. So how has Anthony Edwards performed so far?  Well, we’ve compiled his stats (as well as we could) over the five exhibition games so far.

• Date           Opponent              Min     Pts    Reb   FG%      3P%    Ast    Stl    Blk    +/-
• Aug 7         Puerto Rico            22       15       2      53.8%  25.0%   4        4      1       +18
• Aug 12       Slovenia                              15       4                                 1                          + 16
• Aug 13       Spain                                      9       7                                 1                          + 11
• Aug 18       Greece                    17        21       4      50.0%  66.7%   1        1       0     + 19
• Aug 20       Germany               34        34       6      61.9%  50.0%   2        0       2     + 37
• Exhibition Average                 24       18.8    4.6                46.6%  1.8     1      0.6  + 20
  
• Aug 26       Team New Zealand – Round 1
• Aug 28       Team Greece – Round 1
• Aug 30        Team Jordan – Round 1

As you can see, he has been playing very well. And he has been getting better with each game. So it should come as no surprise to learn that he carried Team USA in a come-from-behind win over Team Germany in the fifth and final exhibition game.