During the Minnesota Timberwolves-Indiana Pacers clash, Anthony Edwards lodged one of the best performances of his young career. A game-winning performance by Edwards led Kevin Garnett to laud the Wolves combo guard, comparing him to a prime Michael Jordan.
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Anthony Edwards had the biggest role to play in the Timberwolves’ 113-111 win over Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers. He scored 44 points with 18 made field goals, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. Ant also had an excellent defensive display, recording 2 steals and 2 blocks including the game-winning block. as per NBA.com
During the dying seconds of the game, Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith pulled off a brilliant euro-step to lose Mike Conley as he approached the basket. At that moment, Edwards heroically swooped in and swatted away what would have been a game-tying layup, as seen in the X (Formerly Twitter) post by Hoop Central.
Similar to many enthusiasts and analysts, Ant-Man surprised himself with the chase-down block as well. During the on-court postgame interview, the 6ft 4” guard revealed how he’s “never jumped that high in his life”.
As soon as the game was over, several past legends of the game reacted to Edwards’ jaw-dropping display and Kevin Garnett was one of the many to be left in awe. Reacting to the Minnesota leader’s performance on X (formerly “Twitter”), KG had some lofty praises, comparing the 22-year-old to a 1988 Michael Jordan. The following is what he said in his X post.
Ant Man with a 40+ piece and the game winning BLOCK? 88 Mike shyt #BothEnds
As bizarre as it may sound, Edwards’ performance compared to a prime MJ isn’t completely inaccurate. During the 1987-1988 season, Jordan recorded 35 points, 3.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game, winning the MVP as well as the DPOY, as per Basketball Reference. Tonight, Edwards had a similar stat line, putting his two-way capabilities on full display.
Garnett has previously also made comparisons between Ant and Jordan. A few weeks ago, the Wolves legend took to his podcast and stated that he agreed with Patrick Beverley’s comments about Ant being the next Jordan. Taking it a step further, the 2008 champ believed that Edwards was already “like a young, ’84 Jordan”.
Kendrick Perkins and injured teammate Karl-Anthony Towns also showered Ant-Man with some lofty praises.
At 22 years old, Anthony Edwards is already setting the world alight. With the star already one of the top-17 players in the NBA, there is no telling how good he may become in the future. Who knows? He may even be better than Michael Jordan ever was.
