Anthony Edwards gets better as the stage gets bigger

If you wonder why Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards is peddling his craft for Team USA and competing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, perhaps you never really grasped the respect and international awe that awaits him on that international stage.

The World Cup is an unprecedented of the world’s elite basketball players, a cornucopia of basketball excellence that offers NBA players a chance to compete on international stages, rivaling the popularity of soccer, as national teams compete for international fame and recognition. It’s the chance for NBA players to test themselves against one another and, in the process, have one more bit of evidence as to who is truly the best basketball player in the world.

If you still are wondering why Minnesota Timberwolves 22-year-old All-Star shooting guard is competing for Team USA, then you simply do not grasp just how elite, and competitive, he is.

And so it goes. The brighter the spotlight, the bigger the stage, the better Anthony Edwards plays basketball.

While that is nothing new to the fans who cheer for and follow the Minnesota Timberwolves, this is all a bit of a revelation to NBA basketball fans. Anthony Edwards was that young shooting guard who only made it to the NBA All-Star competition because other players were unable to make their commitment to show up and compete.

To them, he is an NBA All-Star understudy. Forget the fact that his 2022-23 NBA season’s performance was better than many players who made it to the NBA All-Star event. His attendance was somehow ‘less worthy,’ than others.

So when Edwards had the opportunity to compete against the best of the best, and truly measure where he falls in the rankings of the best contemporary NBA players, he did exactly what he should do and took a chance on himself.