Anthony Edwards is taking a leap that should terrify the rest of the NBA

Coming into Wednesday’s night game, Anthony Edwards had previously put together some inefficient nights in season openers for the Timberwolves. It wouldn’t be easy for the 24-year-old to change that, facing a Trail Blazers team with some very good defensive pieces. Plus, he had been listed as questionable to play due to back spasms. Well, Edwards certainly played, and he certainly made quite the impact. 

Ant Man drops 41 in season opener

Minnesota started off the season with a 118-114 road victory over Portland on Wednesday. Undoubtedly, the star of the game was Edwards. He finished the outing with 41 points on 14-28 shooting (5-10 from 3-point territory). Edwards also made all eight of his free throw attempts.

Consider Sam Vecenie impressed. On his podcast, he had this to say regarding Ant-Man’s season debut.

"I thought Anthony Edwards was amazing last night, Vecenie said. Unbelievable. Like Portland threw bodies at him, they threw Jrue (Holiday) at him, for different stretches they threw Toumani Camara at him…it just didn’t matter, he was getting a bucket no what. No matter what these gritty defenders tried to do, he found an answer."

Edwards also put together his best display in the fourth quarter, making all 4 of his shot attempts. The Timberwolves entered the final stanza trailing by seven points. His 3-pointer from a few feet behind the line gave Minnesota a 1-point lead with 3:36 remaining. About 2 minutes later, he banged another trey to put the Wolves up 2. Edwards put the nail in the coffin with his 21-footer with 6.8 seconds left, where he left Toumani Camara nowhere in position to challenge the shot.

Step forward in age-24 season?

As good as he has been, it can be hard to remember that Edwards is still only 24 years old. We likely haven’t seen him at his apex yet, and his best season could be this year. 

After finishing seventh in MVP voting the last two years, perhaps he can become a more viable challenger for the award at the end of the year. The Timberwolves may have to be a top-four seed in the West (if not better) for that to be a possibility.

The team lost so many close games last season, though, so pulling out a comeback win to start the year is hopefully a harbinger of things to come. There will be a narrative surrounding Edwards, which will help his chances of winning the award if he continues to come through in the clutch as he did on Wednesday.