Something truly ‘clicked,’ for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards over the course of the 2022-23 NBA season. It wasn’t as though Edwards did not arrive at the NBA earmarked with star potential from his rookie season. But the first overall pick from the 2021 NBA Draft was simply a young man who was oozing NBA potential.
Now? He is oozing international basketball production.
“The best player on the Team USA team is clearly Anthony Edwards. He’s going to the Olympics too… I’ve been hearing all this sh*t about ‘B-Team’… This is a pure indication of how much talent [the USA] has.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 30, 2023
— Theo Pinson
(via @TidalLeague)pic.twitter.com/94pxO0hJ6N
It may have been the fact that he was reprimanded for his poor decisions a year ago. It may have been that with the injury to his Minnesota Timberwolves teammate, power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, he found the team leaderless and simply stepped up to fill the void.
Whatever the cause and whatever the case may be, Timberwolves SG Anthony Edwards has leveled up once more. And who can say just what this new and improved version can do for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Well, perhaps Team USA Coach Steve Kerr. So how is doing for Team USA?
Anthony Edwards cooked up 18 in the first half, and it's beautiful.#FIBAWC x #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/BudVY9G5E9
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 30, 2023
While you might think that a 6-foot-4 22-year-old NBA shooting guard is merely showing the international stage what many fans have seen before? Think again. They have never seen anyone like Anthony Edwards before, and likely will not for many years to come:
Anthony Edwards.
— Barflaan Tedoe 🇱🇷 (@The_Barftender) August 30, 2023
Bruh is only 6’4 doing this pic.twitter.com/lIW9vj5iuj https://t.co/4dbSEavMHl
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In the past, NBA stars who captured the spotlight on the international stage have done so with their unstoppable ability to score points at will.
But Edwards brings it on both ends of the basketball court. He can drive to the basket, do a mid-range pop-up jumper, steal the basketball, and even get a game-saving block. He has every piston in that high-performance engine popping right now. Right now, he is on a collision course with Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2023 FIBA WC competition.
Perhaps it’s just as well. The baton was handed off from KAT to Ant-Man this season. Now, we will have the opportunity to see who triumphs over the other. The Jedi Master? Or the former pupil?