The Minnesota Timberwolves have a chance to take a huge 3-2 series lead against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, and the main reason they're in this position is their superstar.
Anthony Edwards is fighting through not only a knee injury that sidelined Steph Curry for more than a month, but a bone bruise in his other knee. His athleticism isn't quite what we're accustomed to seeing, and yet he still looks like the best player on the court in a series against Victor Wembanyama.
In the second-round, he's averaging 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. However, in the last two games at home, he's found another gear. In Game 3, he had 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists in a close loss. During a must-win Game 4 to avoid going down 3-1, he delivered with 36 points on 59.1 percent shooting.
Truthfully, nobody imagined Edwards would be this good after his second knee injury in March. Not only does Ant's stellar play bode well for this series, but it gives fans plenty to be optimistic about for his long-term career outlook.
It's scary that this isn't even the best version of Anthony Edwards
Timberwolves fans are incredibly fortunate to have a talent like this to be the face of their franchise. The injuries he is dealing with are enough to sideline players for months, and not only is he playing through them, but he's outright dominating.
His true peak won't even be for another three or four years; that's some frightening stuff for the rest of the league.
The things that he's done in this series to still dominate without his peak athleticism are noticeable, too. Edwards is getting to his spots at will and taking his time to get there. He's done a great job of putting the defender on his back and getting into that floater range.
Even with the knee injuries, he's been automatic in isolation as well. Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Victor Wembanyama, it doesn't matter to him; he's generated good shots against all of them.
This bodes extremely well for Edwards' long-term outlook as a player
Edwards being so effective without having his superhuman athleticism is amazing to see. Not just because he's winning the Wolves games, but it further solidifies that he isn't too reliant on athleticism to be successful.
Too many guards fade in their mid to late 30s because they relied on athleticism too much when they were younger, and when the athleticism faded, so did their game. Some guys that come to mind are Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, and John Wall.
Injuries obviously played a part in these players' drop off from stardom, but injuries are a part of the game, and you aren't going to be peak-of-your-powers athletic for your entire career.
So when Ant maybe isn't jumping through the Target Center roof in the back half of his career, this stretch should give confidence that he will still undoubtedly be a superstar despite that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google