On the latest episode of The Hoops Collective podcast, Brian Windhorst discussed ESPN’s recent NBA MVP straw poll with Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps. When Anthony Edwards was brought up, Windhorst said this,
"I think he’s the most underrated star in basketball…his jersey sales are like seventh. We have some internal metrics at ESPN that I’m not going to get into that indicate people don’t follow him as much as other players. I think he should be a centerpiece and be like top 3 or 4 in building prime time games around him."
The Minnesota Timberwolves certainly have been experiencing more national TV games in recent years, in large part due to Ant-Man. Windhorst’s take isn’t one that is often heard outside of the Wolves' fanbase.
Came in 11th in ESPN's MVP straw poll
There are 11 players who received votes in ESPN’s NBA MVP straw poll, which came out on Friday. Coming in at the rear of those 11 is Edwards. Out of 100 voters, he was included on just four ballots (one third-place, three fifth-place votes).
The vote was done prior to Ant’s 40-point outing on Friday night, but even before that, he was averaging a career-best in scoring as well as career-highs in field goal and 3-point percentage. An 11th-place MVP finish would be a dip from the tied-for-seventh and seventh-place finishes he has had the past two years.
Being in 11th in the straw poll does seem low and strengthens the case that Edwards is underrated. I’ll take Windhorst’s word about ESPN’s metrics that show he’s undervalued, although we aren’t privy to any of that information.
Windhorst was close with the jersey sales as Ant is sixth, at least according to the most recent update from last month. The five players ahead of him are Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, and LeBron James.
It’s a different tune than others in the media have been singing, though. The ‘face of the league’ debate was brought up frequently at All-Star Weekend. Edwards was asked about it, and even though he’s made it clear that he’s not interested in the title and wants Victor Wembanyama to have it, Stephen A. Smith and others see Ant as the one who should take the mantle.
Still just 24 years old, Edwards is a box-office, must-see player each time he steps on the court. Whether he’s the most underrated star can be debated, but his standing as one of the game’s great players cannot.