Anthony Edwards is the perfect teammate.
For all the bravado, the d— measuring and DX chopping, and the megawatt aura that comes with being a 23-year-old superstar on a rapid ascension to the top of the world, Anthony Edwards always puts his teammates first. He’s Jaden McDaniels’ biggest fan and takes any opportunity to boost his confidence. Edwards has embraced Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo after the shock trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York. He always publicly backs Chris Finch even when he’s getting his ass chewed out in the locker room.
Ahead of the first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, knowing all eyes are on him in the city of stars, Edwards again went out of his way to deflect onto his underappreciated teammates. Before the series started, he told reporters, “It doesn’t matter who gets all the buckets and shots.”
Knowing that LA’s defensive plan would be to blitz and double-team Minnesota’s best player to take him out of the equation at all costs, Ant told Nickeil Alexander-Walker, “This might not be the Ant series.”
It’s what every fan base wants to hear from the face of the franchise. The awareness to understand that for the team to succeed, he needs to sacrifice his numbers and personal glory is some old-school basketball purism. Ant is right to acknowledge that the path to glory isn’t always going to be him hoisting shot after shot, but this and all subsequent playoff series for the rest of his career need to be the Ant series.
Anthony Edwards is already a certified playoff riser five years into his career. His career regular season averages of 23.9 points. 5.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game all rise to 27.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game across 29 career playoff games. His 27.5 points per game are already the 10th best in NBA history, with the potential to skyrocket as Edwards rounds into his prime. He’s led the Timberwolves from a 23-49 record in his first season to the Western Conference Finals last year. He’s on the shortlist to someday take over as the face of the NBA once LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant hang up their sneakers.
Ant dominated all five of his previous playoff series. He and KAT tag-teamed to almost dismantle the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a six-game first-round slugfest in 2022. He averaged 31.6 points, 5.2 assists, and five rebounds in a five-game set that the eventual champion Denver Nuggets would call their hardest series of the 2023 Playoffs.
Edwards took sole legal custody of his son Devin Booker in a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns last year. He went toe-to-toe with Nikola Jokic and led the Timberwolves to a 20-point comeback in Game 7 to upset the reigning champs.
Ant and the Wolves ran out of gas in the Western Conference Finals against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Still, Edwards led the Wolves in points, rebounds, and assists in the series while shooting better than 40 percent from three. He’s been the man in every playoff series of his career and will need to continue that trajectory to get the Timberwolves over the hump for the first NBA Championship in franchise history.
It certainly hasn’t been the Ant series for the first two games against the Lakers. He played well in the Game 1 romp at Crypto.com Arena. He scored 22 points on 8 of 22 from the field and almost finished with a triple-double with eight rebounds and nine assists in the 117-95 beatdown. Edwards took what LA’s defense gave him and deferred to his teammates, leading to Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid having the best playoff games of their careers with 25 and 23 points, respectively.
The Lakers took Edwards out of Game 2 enough to tie the series 1-1, heading back to Minnesota for Game 3 on Friday. He led the Timberwolves with 25 points and had six rebounds but didn’t log a single assist and missed six of his eight three-point attempts. He’s averaging 23.5 points per game, seven rebounds, and 4.5 assists in the two games against Los Angeles. In contrast, Luka Doncic is averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists to lead the Lakers after averaging a near triple-double to bury the Wolves in the West Finals last year.
If the Wolves are going to beat the Lakers and make a run in the playoffs, Anthony Edwards won’t have to do everything by himself. Julius Randle, McDaniels, and Naz Reid are more than enough firepower to back Edwards up in a finals run. Still, Edwards needs to hit the final level where he is the best player in any playoff series he’s in for the rest of his career.
There will be moments when opponents have the better team, more accomplished players, and perhaps Ant’s teammates outshine him occasionally. However, Edwards must start every series knowing it’s all about him. When was the last time a Chicago Bulls series wasn’t a Michael Jordan series (that he played in)? Scottie Pippen had some all-time great series. Dennis Rodman had his moments. But from 1984 to 1998, everyone in the world knew that the Chicago Bulls lived and died with Michael Jordan, and he delivered.
Edwards showed great leadership by pumping up his teammates ahead of the playoffs. He’ll show even greater leadership on the court by taking the series over and turning it into an Ant series.