Anthony Edwards has become one of the fastest-rising superstars in the NBA at just twenty-two years old. He did what even LeBron James couldn’t for the last two years: dominating the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs quite convincingly, even setting a playoff career-high of 43 points Saturday—a matching score that Edwards delivered on November 12, when Draymond Green trash-talked into a hot mic that seemingly triggered Edwards to salvage a win against the Warriors (116-110).
That same game that ticked Ant-man off was actually the third in what turned out to be the Warriors’ 6-game losing streak. On the contrary, the Timberwolves came back the next day to register 1 more win against the Dubs to round off their winning streak of 7 games. So, when Ant-man delivered a record playoff career performance—a treatment that Dray is not unaware, Dray has turned into a firm believer in Ant-man’s boisterous evolution in the league. Following Dray down an ‘Ant-Man rabbit hole‘ is his wife, Hazel Renee.
Discussing Edwards’ dominance in the playoffs so far on The Draymond Green Show, the veteran revealed his wife’s mini-rant about Ant-Man, pointing out “It’s hard to deny when somebody is hungry.”
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“He’s hungry as hell and he believes he’s the best. And he wants to be the best,” Dray agreed with his wife. This has led to him having an insane work ethic and a fair deal of humility, too. After a jaw-dropping 43-point haul against the Nuggets, the youngster was humble enough to call one of his biggest rivals, Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, “the best player in the world.” Who does that? Green wasn’t done with his justification, though.
Despite all the chatter, Draymond Green wouldn’t budge over calling Ant-Man the best player. “He 100% believes he’s the best player in the world. And if you don’t believe… all you gotta do is watch him play,” the veteran added. Edwards’ mentality was in full display when he said, “I just want to kill everything in front of me,” and deemed it the ‘main thing’ he’s focusing on in the playoffs. It was a big statement to make, but it worked. Minnesota went on to trash the Nuggets in a 26-point blowout win and proceeded with an iconic ‘shrug’ celebration.
The defending championships are cracking under pressure, and it’s safe to say that Ant-Man’s contributions to the cause are more than significant. However, Draymond wants the fanbase to think beyond the on-court performances.
The Timberwolves are poised to compete for their first Championship courtesy of Anthony Edwards’ all-round efforts
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After singing praises of the youngster’s basketball abilities, Draymond cited one more reason why he believes Ant-Man has cracked the perfect recipe to be the best. “A lot of teams fail the media game. Because when you’re in the playoff series, you can bet you’re bottom dollar, that’s part of the game, and Ant-Man is passing that part with flying colors.”
Always speaking in high regard about his teammates and motivating them to play better while never taking credit for the team’s success, Anthony Edwards has better responses in ‘the media game’ than many of the established superstars. Not to forget the respect he always pays to his competitors.
Maybe, that is one of the reasons why the Timberwolves are the best defensive team in the league and have been dominating this year’s playoffs despite their inexperience in the postseason. But when Anthony Edwards is on the court, he means business. Having already scored back-to-back 40s, once in a closeout game against the Suns and then in Game 1 against the Nuggets, he is playing the best basketball of his career.
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Green wasn’t the only NBA personality singing Ant-Man’s praises. The highly-critical Stephen A. Smith went on a limb and said, “This brother is something special.” And special, he is. When head coach Chris Finch said Edwards is unique in his outsider’s perspective about the league, “‘Hey, I’m not gonna be a part of your super team. I want people to come here and play with me, and we’ll win here together,’” doesn’t that ring a bell with MJ?
If he leads the Timberwolves to a Championship this year, many more will begin sharing the same sentiment.