As the Minnesota Timberwolves try to figure out how to win consistently with their current roster, life has certainly been more difficult for Anthony Edwards than he is used to at times. Edwards has voiced multiple times this season how frustrated he has been with the consistent double teams coming from opponents that have forced him out of his normal rhythm.
Ant has been finding more success recently, as evidenced by his spectacular month of January, where he is averaging 29.9 points per night as of this writing. Edwards has scored 30 or more in seven of the Timberwolves' 13 games this month, even putting up a career-high 53-point outing back on January 4.
How has he done it? Partially through seeking guidance from the greatest basketball player of all-time. According to ESPN's Mark Jones, Edwards recently reached out to Michael Jordan for advice on how to effectively beat double teams.
Edwards asked MJ for advice on how to beat double teams
"I was told by someone in his circle that three weeks ago Ant reached out to Michael Jordan on advice on how to handle some of the double teams and traps that he's seeing," said Jones. "He's been extremely frustrated up until late.”
Edwards went to the right place for advice. Few players in the history of the NBA have been better at beating double and triple teams than Jordan. During his heyday in the 80s and 90s, opposing teams focused their entire defensive schemes around stopping MJ, and he still ended up as a 10-time scoring champion. Only one other player in history (Wilt Chamberlain) has earned more than four scoring titles.
Of course, this conversation between Edwards and Jordan is naturally going to re-ignite the comparisons that have repeatedly been made between the two players' games. That is another conversation, but it is safe to say that Edwards' inquiry with MJ has worked based on his play this month. If Minnesota truly begins to turn their season around, this might be the moment we look back on that changed everything.