When the Minnesota Timberwolves face off with the Golden State Warriors, Anthony Edwards is likely to have one particular person on his mind: Steve Kerr. The Warriors' head coach hasn't always been a believer in Edwards' ability, and Ant is unlikely to have forgotten this fact.
Over the last couple of days since the Wolves officially found out their second round playoff opponent, the internet has been flooded with reminders of just how many interesting storylines come into play between these two teams. There is much more than just meets the eye here.
There is of course the trash talk that is bound to go on between Anthony Edwards and Draymond Green following Ant's previous comments. Then let's not forget Jimmy Butler and his relationship with the Timberwolves fanbase. And who could forget the not-so-friendly relationship between Draymond and Rudy Gobert as well?
But perhaps more interesting than all of these subplots is the dynamic between Steve Kerr and Minnesota's franchise player. Way back in 2020, the Warriors owned the second pick in the NBA draft, which they infamously used to select James Wiseman.
Kerr gave Edwards some added motivation during the draft process
The first pick, of course, being Anthony Edwards. But even though Golden State did not have an opportunity to pick Ant, Kerr has stated that they apparently weren't going to do so, even if they had landed the coveted top spot in the lottery that year.
“If we had the first pick, we wouldn’t take you," Kerr said back in 2020. Edwards first revealed this information to the public back at the Timberwolves' 2023-24 media day in September 2023. He detailed how Kerr was critical of his work ethic during the pre-draft process.
"I was going through the drills and he kept stopping them, like ‘that’s all you’ve got?'" said Edwards. At dinner that night, Kerr's commentary continued. "You didn't work hard enough," the Warriors' coach said.
Edwards revealed that this lit a fire under him to work even harder in the gym. And now, with Kerr and his Warriors squad lined up against him, there has to be an added element of competitiveness in Ant's mind. It's hard to think he's forgotten any of what Kerr said to him.
This will be yet another interesting storyline to follow as Golden State and Minnesota square off. Anthony Edwards is not a player that needs a lot of outside noise or extra motivation to be great. But if you give him a reason to beat you, you just made it that much harder on yourself.