Anthony Edwards is one of the NBA's most exciting players. He's been a top-tier athlete and finisher throughout his career. Still, his growth as a mid-range scorer last season and as a 3-point sniper the year before have made him even more exciting to watch.
This season, though, it's a different story. The Minnesota Timberwolves don't need Ant to add a flashy skill to his game that will make him jump off the screen. However, there's still room for Edwards to grow, especially as a defender. As such, the theme of Ant's season should be "embracing the boring" and being more engaged as an off-ball defender.
What embracing the boring looks like for Anthony Edwards
As things stand, Ant has shown to be a good defender on the ball, especially in high-leverage situations. But what about on a Tuesday night against Sacramento? Yeah, it's safe to say that Edwards isn't engaged on defense on nights like this. That shouldn't be the case, though; Ant has all the athletic tools to be a two-way force.
Last season was the worst defensive year of Ant's career. He was disengaged off the ball, frequently getting backcut, failing to rotate or navigate screens. It's not a coincidence that the Wolves' defense was 5.7 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass.
For a Timberwolves team that struggled with consistency in the regular season, ultimately falling to the No. 6 seed, Edwards was clearly part of the problem because of his defense.
Rebounding is another area I'd like to see some growth from Edwards in. Much like staying engaged off the ball, it's a very meat-and-potatoes part of basketball, but it's one that Ant should excel at with his athletic tools if he simply committed to crashing the glass more often. Right now, he is a solid positional rebounder, but he could be an elite one.
While Jonathan Kuminga eases some of these concerns, the Wolves did lose some frontcourt size by trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid.
Currently, Ant is a borderline top-five player, but to reach another level, these areas of his game must improve. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is someone he will naturally be compared to. What separates SGA as a clear-cut top-three player is that he doesn't take nights off, and he's ultra-consistent on both ends of the floor.
Despite his offensive greatness, Edwards can be prone to off-nights that higher-level stars avoid. Being more consistent across the board can help Edwards level up as a star, and it will help the Wolves avoid another underwhelming regular season.
Cleaning up these habits will be even more important, given the NBA's new lottery odds, which discourage tanking.
There's no reason why Edwards can't improve his weaknesses
Thankfully, there's reason to believe that Edwards can clean these issues up and embrace the boring. At 25, he's entering his true prime and has a better understanding of what goes into winning at a higher level. More importantly, though, LaMelo will alleviate a ton of offensive pressure off Edwards, which, in turn, will help him unlock more of his two-way upside.
It's fair to be critical of Ant's subpar defense last season, but the context of a roster that lacked playmaking and creation alongside him is vital. LaMelo solves this problem, though, and this leaves Edwards with no excuse not to be a two-way force.
Plus, it's not like he has to guard opposing teams' stars or anything. All Ant has to do is give it 100 percent every single night. That's more than a reasonable ask with an improved roster around him.
Edwards' growth this season might not be a mainstream talking point as it was in past years, but make no mistake: if he can embrace doing the little things, it will help him and the Timberwolves immensely.
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