Charles Barkley Swallows Bitter Pill Only to Make Honest Anthony Edwards Admission

Antman has made a fan out of Chuck. Not Paul Rudd, but Anthony Edwards. Moving past his precious Suns losing, Charles Barkley is putting the Minnesota Timberwolves’ series win in his hands for a phenomenal 40-point showing. Despite Devin Booker’s grand performance on the court, the Wolves won Game 4 122-116. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns were swept in their home. The most impressive play in Minnesota’s win is credited to Edwards, according to Chuck.

“He knows he is the dude,” Barkley said about Edwards’ capacity to galvanize the Wolves. “He makes all these basketball plays, but his mentality… That’s what makes him special.”

Edwards had a late spurt in the second half, scoring 31 of his 40 points then. The 22-year-old also slammed a one-handed dunk to give Minnesota a 115-111 lead with two minutes left on the clock. Phoenix could not recover while Edwards was in charge.

Barkley may be seeing some of that ability to lead the team in the Wolves youngster too. “There are a lot of really good players. But when you have a dog, you got a chance. Because everyone gonna follow that dog.” 

His comments are a lot similar to what Shaquille O’Neal said on The Big Podcast earlier this year. While Chuck took a while to get on the Ant-bandwagon, Shaq was already there, naming him as the NBA youngster he’d love to team up with “‘Cause he’s a dog.” Shaq also named Ant’s leadership qualities that make him reliable. Either Chuck saw that podcast or Edwards was mighty persuasive today.

Charles Barkley sees Ant’s future

In this series, Chuck’s focus was mostly on the Suns and their problems. He cited their lack of a point guard as the recurring issue that will doom them in the playoffs. Yet he may have been keeping his fingers crossed under the table the Suns will stretch this series. Now that it didn’t happen, he’s turning his focus on the Wolves’ biggest hope.

Before Game 4, Chuck was seeing the comparisons between Michael Jordan and Edwards make sense. Now he’s sure they’re potential champions. Before the Nuggets-Lakers series ends, he’s anticipating the reigning champs to win and face the Wolves in the next round. But Chuck warned Nikola Jokic, “Ant’s ready.” Even Shaq and Kenny see very strong odds of the Ant-led Wolves overthrowing the defending champions.

So far, no team has looked like a strong enough contender to take on The Joker. It looks like the Inside Guys are already projecting Edwards as the future face of the NBA. Do you see Chuck’s vision for Anthony Edwards?