For the past few years, Anthony Edwards has been known as one of the game’s top young scorers. Entering the season still just 24 years old, many wondered if there was a further jump in his game coming from Ant-Man, as he hasn't yet even reached the years that most consider to be a player's prime.
There certainly has been a jump. Averaging career-highs in scoring and shooting percentages this season, Edwards has once again leveled up. With February nearing its conclusion, he is close to being the league leader in scoring over the entire month.
Ant-Man is averaging more than 30 points per game in February
Over the month of February, the Minnesota Timberwolves own a 5-4 record. They have one more game this month on Thursday when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, with February being the shortest month and the All-Star break also taking place, teams aren’t going to play as many contests as they had in November, December, and January.
Even so, that shouldn’t take away from what Edwards has been able to do since the calendar turned to February. He has appeared in all nine games during the month and is averaging 30.3 points. Throw out a 14-point game against the Portland Trail Blazers that looks like an outlier, and it increases to 32.4. In the month, Ant has a 40-point game and five others of at least 30.
With the month almost over, Edwards is on the verge of leading the league in points per game in February. He currently does over Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 29.3 (Joel Embiid is averaging 29.8, but he has only played in four of the 10 Philadelphia 76ers games). The next two on the leaderboard are Tyrese Maxey (28.6) and Jaylen Brown (27.5).
It could come down to Thursday night’s outing between the Wolves and Clippers as to who is the leading scorer for the month. Kawhi would need to outscore Edwards by 10 points in order to surpass Ant Man. Thursday also marks the last game of February for the Clippers.
Now in his sixth season since being selected first overall in 2020, Edwards is averaging a career-best 29.6 points. That number has been increasing as this would be his second-straight month averaging 30+ (averaged 30.1 in January). He is also shooting career-highs from the field (49.3%) and 3-point distance (40.0%).
Ant's career-best year has been highlighted by his growth as a mid-range scorer, which has propelled him to become a truly elite three-level scorer. With Edwards leveling up as a scorer, containing him in the playoffs will be even harder.