Don't fall victim to the propaganda, folks. I know it sounds exciting. But we must stay strong in our pursuit of truth, even when Shams Charania goes on ESPN and cries wolf (get it) about Anthony Edwards turning into a Michael Jordan / Kobe Bryant hybrid:
“I've been told, this offseason, Anthony Edwards' number one focus, a new area of development, and that's the post-up game. The mid-post, high-post, low-post, establishing a midrange game and the fadeaway shot from the post, a la Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. I'm told he’s been watching a lot of tape of Kobe and MJ, studying their game, and how they were able to get the shot off from the post-up game. And my understanding is Minnesota believes this part of his game potentially will become a go-to element...”
And, you know, turning into Michael Jordan would be good for Ant's development. I'm surprised more players haven't tried that one.
But before we get ahead of ourselves here, we should rewind three years to when Ant told Zach Lowe — then of ESPN, now of The Ringer — that he was... You guessed it, working on his post game. From The Zach Lowe Show:
"Shams, breathlessly...talked about how he's spoken with people close to Anthony Edwards, and Anthony Edwards is set to unveil a post-up game this season as his big offseason innovation... If that sounds familiar to anybody who listens to this podcast, it's because in the fall of 2022, three years ago, Anthony Edwards was in my Most Intriguing Players at ESPN, and he and I talked on the phone about developing a post-up game, and how he was in the lab that summer... He said... 'My post-ups will be a lot better. I'm working on it now. That's all I can say'..."
Is a post-up game really what Anthony Edwards needs to lift the Wolves?
Maybe he means it this time. Maybe Ant will become a menace with his back to the basket, which is an area he could improve his volume and efficiency in. But we must remember that players work on multiple parts of their games during every offseason. Sometimes it translates to the court the following year... Often it doesn't.
Ben Simmons took a ton of jump shots in July. I'm sure Shaq took about 10,000 free throws each summer, too. Cam Thomas probably looks great defensively in open gym runs in August. The point is, just because Ant is watching a lot of film on MJ and Kobe doesn't mean he's going to emulate them every night next season.
I watch a ton of film on Simone Biles, but if I attempted this I would still break both of my legs in seconds.
So, sure, Ant posting up defenders and then yelling "too small" to screaming Wolves fans would be awesome. Any marginal offensive improvement for an already-elite offensive player is welcomed. Plus, Ant is just 24 years old; I don't doubt that he has the facilities to improve aspects of his game in future seasons. But I also wouldn't pencil him in as an elite post-scoring guard quite yet. Though, in the words of Frank Reynolds, it could be cool.