It’s not possible, that’s what Anthony Edwards hears

This NBA playoffs, Anthony Edwards is the breakout star.

His gravity-defying dunks are impressive. His swagger is contagious. There are a ton of side-by-side videos of him and a young Michael Jordan floating over the internet, seemingly mirroring each other’s movements as they leap over defenseless opponents and resembling synchronized swimmers doing acrobatics.

Apart from one noteworthy case, their similarities are evident to all.

The 22-year-old Edwards expressed his desire for it to end to FOX Sports. “In history, he is the greatest.”. He cannot be compared to me. “.”.

However, he is unable to bend the firehose.

Kevin Garnett said, “He reminds me of a young Michael Jordan from ’84.”. “I told him, ‘Man, you’ve got a chance, brother, to be Michael Jordan,'” Patrick Beverley continued. “We are witnessing the NBA’s Future Face,” wrote Kendrick Perkins on X. Draymond Green chimed in on his podcast, saying, “I believe Anthony Edwards is going to be that next guy. “.

That’s been further supported by his performance in the postseason.

In the Timberwolves’ first-round series victory over Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns, which marked the franchise’s first series win in 20 years and its only perfect series in its 34-year history, he averaged 31 points, including career-highs in field goal percentage (51.2%), rebounds (8), and assists (6 points).

With two straight 40-point games played over the last two games, including a postseason career-high 43 points against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday, Edwards has unquestionably evolved from a two-time All-Star into a full-blown superstar.

That’s not exaggeration.

Why Michael Jordan is Anthony Edwards’ NBA ceiling.

After LeBron James, the league’s longtime face, has amassed 100 million video views since the playoffs began, Edwards has generated the second-highest number of views across NBA social and digital platforms. In addition, he has acquired the greatest number of Instagram followers of any player since the postseason began, rising from 2.1 million to 2.35 million, or three times as many as any other player.

the manner in which he soars. his body control while painting. how quickly he moves. It just has an unmistakably Jordan-like quality.

Guard Mike Conley of the Timberwolves told FOX Sports, “Obviously, they have a lot of the same mannerisms.”. “His moves, fadeaways, athleticism, poster dunks, blocks, and defensive playmaking are all impressive. However, the most important thing is really just his drive. That same level of diligence and “I’m ready to play, I’m ready to hoop” mentality that they possess. “”.

The Jordan comparisons are intriguing because it’s possible that they are coincidences. In contrast to Kobe Bryant, who developed a skill at mimicking Jordan’s movements and intensity, Edwards never studied him.

Edwards’ business partner and trainer since the age of 14, Justin Holland, claimed that “he didn’t watch Jordan play.”. It’s organic. “.

Long before Jordan was included in the national narrative, those closest to Edwards claim he reminded them of that country. His competitive nature is what most strikes them, they say.

Jordan was a vicious competitor in all sports, including basketball, cards, golf, and even water-drinking competitions. This has been widely documented. Edwards has the same attribute.

Chris Edwards, his uncle, has discovered that it is best to avoid setting him up for defeat. His brothers saw him pick fights in their grandmother’s backyard after he would lose one-on-one matches.

Edwards once vanished for a few days following a ping-pong match loss, during which time he practiced and watched YouTube videos of professional ping-pong highlights.

Nobody could defeat him in roughly two weeks, according to Holland. “.

So why does he reject the Jordan comparisons when they come from everyone, including basketball experts and his inner circle?

Does this put too much pressure on you?

Edwards said, “No, no pressure,” to FOX Sports. It simply cannot be done. “.

**.

Edwards had to disprove the one person who was doubting him.

When the fiercely competitive Edwards was practicing for the 2020 NBA Draft in a series of one-on-one matches with a few professional players, he was reaching new heights.

As Holland put it, “Ant is going so hard.”. As if it were a game in overtime that mattered. “.”.

Something that had happened a few moments before served as the inspiration for the scene. Edwards heard a person disparage him. He gave up on working out alone. He moved down the court. He then assumed the role of a player in a Finals Game 7.

He’s scoring consecutive goals, despite the fact that the other players are playing one-on-one, according to Holland. “The other player isn’t given the opportunity to even touch the ball. “.

Holland then discovered who had started it all.

Holland remarked, “I’m really thinking it’s a teenager.”. The child has six years old. “.

It seems that kindergartener had informed Edwards that he couldn’t defeat his father, something the future No. One draft selection was made by hand.

“He was like, ‘I had to tell him.'” Holland remembered.

It makes no difference to Edwards who calls him out. He feels compelled to choke on their words if someone expresses doubts about him.

That’s really the reason he started playing basketball in the first place.

Edwards was a rising football star who, by the time he was ten years old, was regarded as one of the nation’s best Pop Warner running backs.

However, because basketball games are extremely competitive one-on-one, Edwards’ older brother Antony (also known as Bubba) helped redirect his attention to basketball. Anthony would become emotional when he lost.

Bubba said, “He’d want to start fighting.”. Hits were delivered. ****.

To outshine his brother, Anthony made the decision to concentrate on basketball.

Edwards said to FOX Sports, “I was like, forget football.”. I wish to resemble you, Babe. “.”.

Born the youngest of four siblings, Edwards credits his struggles with his siblings for instilling in him a second talent: trash talk.

Every advantage that he could obtain was necessary. To gain an advantage, he would stop at nothing, even if it meant using his mouth to make up for any skills he didn’t have at the moment.

Edwards said to FOX Sports, “I would say that growing up in the backyard, playing 21 with my brothers, I never could win.”. Thus, my goal would be to dissuade them from winning. I would figure out a method to win the game. Let me just take this as a free two points. However, they’d never follow through. I would therefore attempt to discredit them from the game. That is not going to work. Still, my trash-talking skills improved with age. “.

In the recent film “Hustle,” Edwards played a trash-talking foil opposite Adam Sandler, demonstrating how well-known his verbal manipulation techniques have become.

Kevin Durant probably wouldn’t agree that Edwards was acting all that much.

During their playoff series in the first round, Edwards, who idolized the two-time NBA champion, didn’t think twice about trying to get under his skin. In Game 3, after making multiple 3-pointers, one of which was over Durant’s extended arms, Edwards got into an altercation with the player that led to his 36-point, nine-rebound, and five-assist performance.

Shaking his head, Durant grinned.

And after contributing to the Suns’ elimination on Sunday, Edwards further cut Durant, who will be his teammate on the U.S. S. Men’s Basketball team competing in the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

Edwards underlined how eager he is to play with his childhood hero in the near future. However, not for the reasons you might expect.

Edwards remarked, “Talk a little trash.”. “And tell him that I sent him back home.”. “.

**.

Edwards’s intensity certainly reminds one of Jordan’s fire. However, there are also a great deal of distinctions between them.

Edwards is soft-spoken and sensitive, according to his family.

Uncle Chris said, “He wears his heart on his sleeve.”. “He doesn’t often read [social media] comments because of this. People can be very critical of him. Despite appearances, it affects him deeply. “.”.

Edwards won his fifth-grade spelling bee, and his winning word was hamburger, in case you didn’t know. or that he likes to play practical jokes on people by dousing them in water and shoving snowballs in their faces. or that rather than going out to parties, he would rather spend his evenings eating chicken fingers and playing video games.

He is regarded as a good teammate and coachable member of the Timberwolves.

And although not making the varsity basketball team in high school may have spurred Jordan’s skill explosion, Edwards’ rise was motivated by loss.

Anthony Edwards has arrived. Move over, LeBron and KD.

Within eight months of each other, Edwards’ grandmother Shirley and mother Yvette passed away from cancer in 2015, when he was fourteen years old.

Edwards used the sport as an anesthetic for his pain, directing all of his emotions into it. The night his mother passed away, Anthony and Bubba actually threw themselves into the one thing that could take their minds off of their crippling grief.

Uncle Chris said, “They went to the gym for eight hours.”. In the parking lot, I was seated. I went, then returned. Moved out and returned. The janitor answered, “We close at six. I heard what happened, so I just let them shoot,” when I asked what time the gym closed. The time was 10 p.m. m. “.

After about half a year, Edwards got in touch with Holland, who was well-known in the Atlanta region for coaching promising college players. According to the story, Edwards’s positive attitude and not his basketball skills impressed him despite the hand he was dealt.

At first, Edwards objected to the rigorous nature of Holland’s training sessions. However, with some prodding from his uncle, he developed a strong desire for them, attending seven days a week, and becoming fixated on every aspect of his performance.

Edwards’s performance took off.

As a scrappy player in elementary school, he could get five steals a game when he would press. As a seventh-grader, he could dunk. As a tenth-grader, he became a star on the Under Armour Circuit.

At that particular event, Bubba recalls being amazed when he took a single step, faked going in the opposite direction, elevated off his left leg, and then executed a right-handed jam over a large center.

Bubba stated that everything was coming together. “Okay, so he’s going to cause trouble. ****.

According to Edwards, he was saved from himself by basketball.

Edwards said to FOX Sports, “Sports in general helped me stay out of a lot of trouble as a kid.”. “Had helped me avoid a lot of trouble up until now. It’s a sympathetic ear. “.

***.

Edwards is not attempting to follow in Jordan’s footsteps.

Regardless of the implications, his goal is to be the best version of himself.

Jordan hasn’t received any advice from him. or LeBron James, despite the fact that many consider him to be the league’s future star.

Edwards told FOX Sports, “I don’t talk to anyone.”. Not one. However, I would say that the people in my immediate vicinity—like my brother Bubba, uncle Chris, uncle Drew, and Justin Holland—keep me grounded. I can stay calm around them, dude. They are constantly talking trash to me and telling me things I should be doing but am not. Thus, I believe that the counsel I require from the people I care about is essentially all of them. ****.

For a Netflix documentary that he is starring in with a few other celebrities, including James, cameras are currently positioned in front of Edwards. The documentary is partly produced by James’s production company, SpringHill.

But it’s not taken over his mind.

His focus is not on being the next Michael Jordan or the next face of the league.

Who will represent the NBA going forward, Anthony Edwards or Victor Wembanyama?

Edwards told FOX Sports, “I don’t really care.”. “It doesn’t really bother me who they choose to represent the league; they don’t pick me, either. All I want to do is win with my teammates. Serving as the league’s face doesn’t really interest me. It would be fantastic if my team could serve as the league’s face. “.

However, his current obsession is trying to overcome the Nuggets, the reigning champions.

He will be happy to talk about that now.

Edwards told FOX Sports, “With a healthy Timberwolves team, I see us winning the championship this year.”.

In fact, those in his inner circle think that the Jordan comparisons might be undervaluing Edwards.

“All his game sliders are turned up to 100,” Bubba said, comparing Edwards to a “Create A Player” in the video game NBA2K. “.

Holland went on, “He has a chance to not only be the league’s face, but the greatest player to ever touch a basketball if he can focus and capitalize on what he’s doing. “.”.

Edwards is simply working hard and keeping his head down. Regarding his future, he is not very worried.

For the rising star, it has proven successful thus far.

Edwards’s family feels that he gets his motivation from other sources and doesn’t need Jordan as an inspiration.

Bubba said of their mother and grandmother, “I feel like he’s playing so hard because he knows he’s got two of his queens watching him.”. “He tries to please them, make them happy, and make them feel proud with every step he takes. “.

Uncle Chris has been so distraught that Edwards’ mother was unable to attend her nephew’s NBA games for the past three years that he would cry every time he went. After learning the superstar’s point of view, he abruptly stopped.

Edwards feels that he was never truly abandoned by his mother and grandmother. All they’re doing is looking at him from a different angle.

Edwards’ potential to follow in Jordan’s footsteps is therefore unimportant. His social circle of influence is larger.

Knowing they are watching from above, he remarked, “It’s a crazy feeling.”. “.

Writer Melissa Rohlin covers the NBA for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for the San Antonio Express-News, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group, and Sports Illustrated. See her at @melissarohlin on Twitter.