Growing up as a Kevin Durant fan, Anthony Edwards idolized The Slim Reaper, and his fandom has only increased since sharing the court with KD. Edwards even admitted to feeling bad for the veteran when the Wolves eliminated the Suns from the playoffs last season. So far, we had little why idea why Edwards always admired Durant and continues to do so. However, in a recent conversation, the Wolves star opened up on his respect for the two-time NBA Champion.

Durant and Edwards were part of the USA team that won gold in Paris. The Games gave Edwards what he described as the “best feeling of his life,” when he was throwing down an alley-oop off a pass from Durant during the final against France. During their stint in the Olympics, Ant-Man bonded with his hero as the two regularly practiced shooting drills and spent time together off the court.

In an exclusive chat with comedian and actor Chris Tucker for Interview Magazine, Edwards discussed the feeling of winning Olympic gold playing alongside his idol. Tucker asked Edwards how it was for him to play and win with some of the people he grew up watching. Edwards said, “It felt good playing alongside K.D. [Kevin Durant], who is my favorite player of all time. But winning it and the way that we won it was the greatest thing ever.”

Tucker then asked Edwards, “Tell me this, why K.D.? You got LeBron, you had Kobe, you got Steph. Why is K.D. your favorite player?” Edwards answered, “Before I met him, I felt like he was super cool, and then when I met him, I realized we are the same. All we want to do is hoop. We let our people control our stuff, but we just want to get on the court and hoop. That’s what I realized when I first got around him.” As great as LeBron and Steph are, Ant-Man claims Durant’s personality and mindset are very similar to him and they have a great vibe off the court.

Continuing his praise for the Suns veteran, he said, “Every time he walks in the gym, he grabs a ball and goes straight to the court before he puts his clothes on, and just starts shooting. And then off the court, we’d just be chilling.”

Surprisingly, Anthony Edwards’ honest response reminded Chris Tucker of his childhood comedy idol, Eddie Murphy. “That’s how I felt when I met Eddie Murphy for the first time. He was my childhood hero,” Tucker mentioned.

Obviously, Murphy is considered one of the GOATs of comedy and Tucker even revealed that he was the reason he starred in the legendary Rush Hour movie franchise. “Eddie, he was a rock star in stand-up. I wanted to do Rush Hour because that was my Beverly Hills Cop. To this day, I see Eddie and I’m like, ‘Man, there goes Eddie Murphy.’”

Anthony Edwards resonated with Chris Tucker’s fandom for the Beverly Hills Cop star saying, “That’s how I am with KD ‘Man, there goes KD.’” Edwards’s love and admiration for KD shone through after the Wolves swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs earlier this year. Speaking after the game he said, “I felt bad a little bit, only because he’s my favorite player of all time,” Edwards said. “I didn’t wanna send him home like that.”

While Edwards has immense respect for Durant, he has picked up a thing or two from Bron and Steph as well.

Anthony Edwards claims he learned the “most” from Stephen Curry during Paris Olympics

While KD continues to be Ant-Man’s favorite player of all time, he did get a chance to share the court with other legends during the Paris Olympics.  Sure enough, Anthony Edwards also soaked in a lot of basketball knowledge from the vets during their time together and when asked what he learned, he replied, “I think the best thing that I learned was from Steph. Like I took Bron like pregame routine, but Steph just playing without the ball.”

Yes, Curry’s off-ball movement and his ability to find the right spots and weave through defenses to get open for shots has led to him winning 4 NBA championships. He has closely studied the Splash Brother’s skill so that he could add it to his bag, “So, like the last few days we’ve been playing 5 on 5, I just be cutting, getting out the way and I get easy shots. So, I think I learned the most from Steph.”

Meanwhile, he also witnessed LeBron James’ insane work ethic, which has helped him stay on top of his game for over two decades. Edwards even paid homage to LeBron, Steph, and KD, by tweeting “Keep some old heads around you,” following the tournament.

Edwards is showing his knack for learning from the very best in the game today. It will be interesting to see him incorporate some of these learning into his game this season for the Wolves.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.