Anthony Edwards is certifiably elite, but few mention his name when discussing the top five players in the NBA. It's not that the Minnesota Timberwolves star is deliberately excluded, but instead that the top five seems to be predetermined by what's transpired in the past and what may happen in the future.
Following his stellar showing at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, Edwards has ignited new debates and offered a brief reminder of how sincerely he belongs in those discussions.
Reigning MVP, Finals MVP, and NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a justifiably safe position in such conversations. The same goes for three-time MVP, former Finals MVP, and NBA champion Nikola Jokic, who is often included in debates with Gilgeous-Alexander for who the best in the world truly is.
Following that duo is a list of usual suspects: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Victor Wembanyama.
Each deserve the praise they've received, and all have a case for being ahead of Edwards at this point in time. Tatum's injury could temporarily exclude him from consideration, but even if that were the case, most appear locked in on Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and Wembanyama.
What Edwards has achieved since the start of the 2023-24 season, however, should have him directly in any and every conversation about the five best players in the NBA.
Anthony Edwards proving he belongs in debates about top 5 NBA players
Edwards, who's still just 24 years of age, has been an All-Star in each of the past four seasons. He earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2023-24 and 2024-25, which is both a tremendous feat and an example of how he's been kept out of top-five discussions.
During those two seasons, however, Edwards has also led Minnesota to back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals.
That's no small feat, as the Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers were the only teams in the NBA to have reached the Conference Finals in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. Edwards and company did lose to Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder and Doncic's Mavericks, but he deserves endless credit for being the clear-cut best player on teams that consistently go deep in the playoffs.
It's even more noteworthy when one considers that the Timberwolves had made just one Conference Finals appearance prior to 2023-24 and hadn't been back since 2003-04.
Anthony Edwards wins in the playoffs, dominates the regular season
In 2025-26, Edwards has taken his game to an entirely new level as a dominant and remarkably efficient scorer. He's averaging 29.3 points per game on .493/.402/.795 shooting, ranking third in the race for the scoring title.
Edwards is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 29.0 points on 40.0 percent shooting or better from beyond the arc, as well as the seventh player in history to achieve said feat.
The other players on that list speak for themselves: Larry Bird, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Michael Jordan, and Damian Lillard. It's the type of company Edwards now keeps as a player who should be revered for his postseason success and regular season brilliance, but is still kept just outside of top-five discussions.
Perhaps the narrative will change once the 2026 NBA Playoffs roll around, but for now, it seems as though Edwards will be left waiting for recognition as the top-tier player he is.