Anthony Edwards silenced all of the doubters, leading his Timberwolves to a five-game victory of the Los Angeles Lakers. After two seasons of playoff success, is it safe to say that Edwards has become the best big-game player in the NBA?
There’s this moment that happens in every great movie about ascending power: the moment where the prodigy becomes untouchable. Think Pacino in the last 10 minutes of The Godfather. Or Jordan holding that first Larry O’Brien trophy like it was the Holy Grail. Or even in Game of Thrones, when Arya Stark suddenly gets terrifyingly competent. Game 5 against the Lakers? That was Anthony Edwards’ moment.
It wasn’t his flashiest performance. It wasn’t the 43-point supernova from Game 4. It wasn’t the Jordanesque closeout from Game 3. It wasn’t even one of his patented, rim-punishing highlight dunks that shatters time and space and the opposing team’s morale. What it was — and what makes this scarier than anything else — is that it was surgical. Controlled. Clinical. Ant knew exactly what the moment required and executed it like a seasoned killer. Like a guy who’s been here a dozen times already. He didn’t take over with points — he took over with gravity.
That’s right. Gravity. The kind only the greats possess. The kind that makes five other professional basketball players on the court start acting like middle schoolers every time you twitch. The kind that drags two defenders 28 feet from the hoop and leaves Mike Conley wide open in the corner for the death blow. Ant didn’t need to score 40. He needed to win. And he did.
And let’s take a moment to acknowledge what got us here.
First, it was a gentleman’s sweep of Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in the first round last year. Four games. That’s all it took. And that series wasn’t just a win — it was a message. Then came the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Wolves stunned the world with a 20-point comeback on the road in Game 7. After taking down two of the biggest names in the NBA, it was clear that Anthony Edwards could no longer be dismissed.
And just when you thought his summer couldn’t get any better, he joined Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. No, Edwards wasn’t the leading scorer. He wasn’t dropping 30 on international defenses like he was in the NBA Playoffs. But what mattered more was how he fit — like a seasoned vet, not a rising star. Durant, LeBron, and Steph — guys who don’t just hand out compliments — spoke glowingly about him. You got the sense that this wasn’t just a kid along for the ride. He belonged. He was being welcomed into the circle.
Then came the season — and all the turbulence. KAT traded. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo coming in like two supporting cast members parachuted onto a show in its fourth season. A bumpy start. Wolves Twitter briefly went DEFCON 2. Then the climb began. March and April? Lights out. They fought out of the play-in with grit, locked in the 6 seed, and headed for what everyone in the national media assumed would be a graceful exit at the hands of LeBron and Luka.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t graceful. It was domination.
And while Ant didn’t average 35 a night in the series, he gave us something better — proof that he’s now at the top table. Four wins in five games, including a dagger on the Lakers’ home floor. It was Ant who drew the attention. It was Ant who bent the defense. It was Ant who made this offense function, even while going 0-for-10 from three in Game 5. That’s the stuff of legends — and of nightmares if you’re a Lakers fan.
Let’s talk about the rest of the team, because no one does this alone — even Jordan had Pippen and a rotating cast of Horace Grants, Kerrs, and Kukocs. Rudy Gobert picked a hell of a time to remind everyone why he has multiple Defensive Player of the Year trophies. He finally got that elusive 20-20 game — 27 points, 24 rebounds, and countless soul-snatching putbacks. The guy was a human trampoline. All the slander? It’s silent now.
Julius Randle? The man turned into a one-man wrecking crew in Game 5, putting the Wolves on his back whenever the Lakers looked like they might tip the momentum. There was a stretch in the fourth where it felt like he was matching LeBron bucket-for-bucket, bully drive for bully drive. The Julius Randle Experience can be wild, but when it works? It’s a ride you don’t want to get off.
McDaniels fouled out in Game 5, but let’s not forget his two-way impact before that — still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and somehow still evolving offensively. And Conley? The old head. The guy who just calmly buried the biggest shot of the game — off an Ant assist, of course — like he’s been doing this for a decade. Because, well, he has.
Now, let’s take stock of the hit list. In the span of 12 months, the Wolves have sent home:
- Kevin Durant
- Nikola Jokić
- Luka Dončić
- LeBron James
That’s not a playoff run. That’s an exorcism.
Up next? Golden State or Houston. Curry or chaos. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. The Wolves just took down the most storied franchise in NBA history, on their own floor, with their best player shooting bricks from deep. This isn’t a cute story anymore. This is a problem for the rest of the league.
What you’re seeing now is the evolution of a superstar in real time. You can feel it. The public can too. In the most recent SB Nation Reacts poll, 35% of fans voted Anthony Edwards as the best big-game player in the league right now. That’s more than Jokic, more than Luka, more than even Steph or LeBron. And let’s be real: this is the same fanbase that thought the Lakers were winning this series in 5. So when they start waking up? You know something special is happening.
So yeah — Ant’s not “next.” He’s now. He’s that guy. He’s the face of the franchise, the face of the moment, and maybe, just maybe, the future face of the league. And if there was any doubt left, Game 5 just slammed the door shut.
The revolution isn’t coming. It’s already here. And it wears No. 5.
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