Given the fact that Michael Jordan is often considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, it’s interesting to hear an NBA player almost disregard his influence in his life. Anthony Edwards, someone who is unabashedly himself at all times, is one of these select few players who admitted to MJ not having any imprint in his life.
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During a conversation with Chris Tucker for Interview Magazine, the Timberwolves star revealed why he didn’t watch a lot of Jordan growing up. The 23-year-old also talked about who his favorite player is and the similarities between the two. Ant said:
“Growing up I was a football player, so I didn’t even really watch Mike.”
Edwards has made it very clear over the past few years that basketball wasn’t his first love. Football was. Him switching over from pursuing football to basketball happened in his final year of middle school and it was revealed by him that his older brother’s passion for hoops was what fueled a fire within himself to go down that route.
Additionally, it’s understandable that Ant wasn’t big on MJ because he was born in 2001. At that time, Jordan was past his prime and was playing for the Washington Wizards from 2001-2003.
By the time Ant grew up, people like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and the late, great Kobe Bryant were the biggest names in the league. The Wolves star did admit that he watched MJ’s highlights. It’s important to note that Ant has been compared to Jordan a lot in the last few years. Many people claim that he is the modern-day version of MJ.
Even during the conversation, Tucker pointed out that they have a lot in common, such as their hunger to win games, their unique trash-talking skills, and their gravity-defying dunks. However, since Edwards was a big football fan growing up, Jordan or basketball wasn’t even on his radar. But as he grew up, he fell in love with the sport and also found his favorite player in the game.
Anthony Edwards is a huge fan of Kevin Durant
It’s tough not to like Ant’s free-spirited personality. given how friendly he is with everybody, it was only a matter of time before he befriended Kevin Durant. He was asked by Tucker, “Why KD?” because there are other great players in the league too and any one of them could’ve been his favorite.
“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. 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,” Ant said.
During the interview, he said that KD is his “favorite player of all time” and winning a gold medal with him in Paris was special. Their friendship was on full display throughout the campaign and it was clear that they both enjoyed each other’s company.
