Anthony Edwards is poised to receive a key honor this upcoming season

Anthony Edwards has established himself as one of the league’s best players and a true superstar in recent years. He has led the Minnesota Timberwolves to back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances and has become a consensus top-five level player. 

While Ant has been on consecutive All-NBA second teams, he has yet to make an All-NBA first team. This upcoming season, Edwards has the perfect chance to earn one of the five spots on the All-NBA first team. The soon-to-be 24-year-old has yet to reach his prime and could further improve. Edwards’ age, paired with the Wolves' likely improvement as a team, primes him for an All-NBA first team campaign. 

Edwards has a clear path to an All-NBA first team selection

This past season, the Wolves were just the sixth seed, which hurt Edwards’ All-NBA first team case. However, as this core develops together for another season, they feel poised to host a playoff series as a top-four seed. 

Edwards is coming off a season where he averaged 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists with 44.7/39.5/83.7 shooting splits. Undoubtedly, these are All-NBA first team numbers, especially with a possible jump in assists and more team success this upcoming season. Edwards' recently improved 3-point shooting makes him a more prolific scorer. If the Wolves finished with a better record, he could have made first team All-NBA last season. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell all made the All-NBA first team this past season. Barring injury, Jokić, SGA, and Giannis should remain on the first team. However, some would argue Edwards deserved a spot over Mitchell this past season, and most people would say Ant is the more complete player. Notably, Edwards got 11 first team votes. 

If the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t as dominant in the 2025-26 season, and/or the Wolves have a better season, Ant-Man may get the nod over Mitchell. The other elephant in the room is Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury, which will likely keep him out for the entire 2025-26 campaign. Nobody would ever wish for an injury like this, but it undoubtedly could allow Edwards to make first team All-NBA. 

With Luka Dončić, presumably, being healthy for a full season, it will give Edwards some more competition. Nevertheless, it’s possible Edwards and Dončić replace Mitchell and Tatum. Overall, Edwards’ path to make All-NBA first team couldn’t be clearer.

As Edwards enters his true prime, putting together an All-NBA first team season feels like a logical step. While Edwards might not have a major statistical jump, increased team success and subtle improvements make earning this honor likely. If all things fall into place, for the Wolves and Edwards, he could even make a top-three MVP push.