Pundits talked all week leading up to the Minnesota Timberwolves' opening round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers about how this series would be an easy victory for the Lakers, and how the Wolves were destined to be sent home. In hindsight, it's funny just how opposite reality ended up being.
Playing as the underdogs against the third-seeded Lakers, Minnesota played some of the best basketball of their season and swiftly eliminated LA, closing things out in Game 5 on Wednesday evening at Crypto dot com arena. All the hype surrounding this Lakers team crumbled, while Anthony Edwards' legacy only continued to grow.
In taking down Luka Doncic, Edwards enacted some poetic justice on the Lakers' star. Last May in the Western Conference Finals, it was the Timberwolves who entered the series as the prohibitive favorites. After taking down the defending champion Denver Nuggets, Minnesota seemed like the team to beat without a doubt.
But then Doncic did what he did and the Dallas Mavericks snuck into the NBA Finals, stealing the spotlight away from the rising Edwards and his teammates. Entering this series, it was clear that there was going to be an element of pride involved concerning Ant.
Edwards returned the favor after Doncic eliminated him last May
The Timberwolves had an up-and-down regular season, but this was their chance to silence all the doubters and send the most media-hyped team home packing. Anthony Edwards knew what kind of opportunity lay before him ahead of the series, and he continually dropped little nuggets to those paying attention along the way.
Stating that the Lakers are "supposed to win," and that the Timberwolves are "not supposed to be here" told everyone all they needed to know about Ant's mentality in this series. Obviously, behind a thin veil of sarcasm, Edwards was ready to dominate the Lakers and make a statement.
He responded to the pressure of this series with one of the best stretches of play of his career at the perfect time. Playing confidently and making clutch shots from the beginning of this showdown to the end of it, Edwards was wholly unafraid of Luka Doncic.
Seemingly every neutral NBA fan still had the memories of Doncic dominating last postseason fresh in their heads, and thought that Luka bulldozing through the playoffs with the Lakers was a good assumption to make. Not only did Anthony Edwards prove them wrong, but he evened the score in postseason contests between he and number 77.
It's a privilege to get to watch these all-world talents go head-to-head, and we're witnessing the continued growth of Edwards right in front of our eyes. Coming into this matchup, the thought from many was that the Lakers had the best player in the series. It feels safe to say that viewpoint is shifting for many now that Edwards dominated in the way that he did.