Anthony Edwards has established himself as one of the NBA's elite stars. However, one notable area of improvement that has been discussed this offseason is that the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar should utilize the mid-range game more. Earlier in his career, Edwards frequently scored from the mid-range area, but he abandoned that aspect of his game last season.
Yes, this was paired with Edwards' development as a 3-point shooter. Nevertheless, Edwards could become a more complete scorer by utilizing the mid-range shots game. This was a clear problem during the Wolves' Western Conference finals series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. One specific playtype that could help Edwards is post-ups.
Notably, Edwards shot a career low 30.8 percent, which translated to the 25th percentile on post-up plays last season. Regardless, at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds with supreme athleticism, Edwards is more than capable of becoming a deadly post-up guard. On a recent episode of the Hoops Tonight podcast, Jason Timpf discussed how posting up more benefits Edwards as a scorer and overall player.
Developing a post-up game would benefit Edwards
Coming off a season where Edwards averaged 27.6 points and led the league in total 3-pointers, there's no denying that he's one of the NBA's best scorers. At the same time, the 24-year-old still has another level to reach as a scorer, and diversifying his offensive arsenal is a natural area of growth.
As noted earlier, Edwards has the physical tools to be an elite post scorer as a guard. Furthermore, the Georgia product ranked in the 73rd percentile for post-ups during the 2023-24 season. A number that rose to the 88th percentile in the playoffs. Going from this to the 25th percentile (on half the attempts per game) and not registering enough post-ups to qualify on the NBA.com's dashboard in the 2025 playoffs is a significant drop-off. Edwards averaged 27.6 points in the 2024 playoffs but just 25.3 points in the 2025 playoffs.
With a more frequent post-up and mid-range game, Edwards was a more effective and less predictable scorer. Regaining this level post-scoring volume and efficiency while remaining an elite outside shooter could give Edwards a case as the league's best all-around scorer. When smaller guards switch onto him, Edwards must start taking advantage of that more, and he should also look to target smaller players to do so.
Comparing Edwards to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who, of course, won MVP and Finals MVP), the use of post and mid-range scoring is significant. SGA ranked in the 69th percentile in post-ups in the regular season and the 100th percentile in the playoffs. He also shot 50 percent in the mid-range during the regular season on 4.6 attempts, while Ant shot just 37.6 percent on 2.7 attempts.
While Shai is the more effective scorer now, it's not far-fetched to say Edwards could become a better scorer. On paper, with 25 extra pounds and more athleticism, Edwards should be the more effective post player. Developing a consistent post-game could help Edwards close the gap between him and SGA. Throughout his career, Edwards has constantly improved, and it's reasonable to expect that this is an area of growth that he addresses this season.