Recently, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon did a 2020 NBA re-draft on the Game Theory podcast. To nobody's surprise, Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards went No. 1, which is, of course, where he was drafted by the Wolves five years ago.
When discussing Edwards, Vecenie, and Simon were of course complimentary of Ant, but they particularly praised him for his elite play in the postseason. Vecenie called him an "absolute savage" in the playoffs and added that he is on track to be one of the truly great playoff performers we've seen in a long time.
To this point, Edwards is one of the league's best playoff risers. For his career, Edwards has played in 42 games, averaging 26.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 46.8/37.7/78.8 shooting splits. Additionally, he has never averaged less than 25 points in the playoffs. These are stellar numbers for someone who recently turned 24, to say the least. Wolves fans (and the rest of NBA fans) are well aware of Edwards' dominance in the playoffs after the past seasons.
Edwards is an elite playoff performer, something that will continue to benefit the Wolves
Edwards has led the Wolves to back-to-back Western Conference finals appearances. Doing this before turning 24 is incredible, and as Vecenie noted, this puts him on an all-time trajectory. However, the context behind these runs makes them even more impressive. The Wolves weren't truly expected to make these runs, and they took down some all-time greats to get there.
In 2024, despite being the No. 3 seed and winning 56 games, many were predicting the Phoenix Suns to upset the Wolves in the first-round. Regardless, the Wolves swept Phoenix with only one game being decided by single digits. Edwards averaged 31 points in this series while beating his favorite player, Kevin Durant.
To make this run more impressive, Edwards and the Wolves took down the defending champion Denver Nuggets in seven games. Most people expected the champs, led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, to get the better of a younger Wolves squad. Nevertheless, Ant was able to will the Wolves to a series victory while their defense proved to be the perfect recipe for Jokić and Murray. Ant averaged 27.7 ppg in this series and helped lead the Wolves to a 15-point comeback (on the road) in Game 7.
Edwards did it again in 2025 when he and the Wolves took down the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers. Only one member of ESPN's panel picked the Wolves to win this series, but they ultimately took care of the Lakers in five games. Taking down LeBron James, who many people view as the greatest player of all-time, and Luka Dončić, who many people view as a better player than Ant, is extremely impressive. Edwards poured in averages of 26.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 6.2 apg. Julius Randle was also stellar in the Wolves' pulling off this upset.
The Wolves followed this up by beating the Golden State Warriors. While Steph Curry was injured, it was still an impressive five-game series win for Edwards and company.
Undoubtedly, leading the Wolves to such playoff success at such a young age is an extremely impressive feat for Edwards, especially considering how many all-time greats he has beaten. As the Wolves are aiming to win their first championship in franchise history, they have the perfect player to lead them to this goal. At just 24, there's no doubt Edwards will continue to improve while already being a top-five level player.