Even amongst superstars, Anthony Edwards looks like a real standout at the moment. He came off the bench against Canada in the recent exhibition game, scoring a team-high 13 points (6 of 10 shooting) to lead the USA to a comfortable 86-72 win. However, while he looked beyond settled, the 22-year-old revealed that he was extremely nervous before this game, with the Olympics on his mind.
Advertisement
As many will remember, this is hardly the first time Edwards has represented Team USA. At the 2023, FIBA World Cup, he was the best player on the team, and put on a show every single night he took the floor. However, he seems to see the Olympics as a different beast altogether. After all, he said this about the tournament after the match-up against Canada.
“I was nervous for real, I ain’t gonna lie. I told Bron [LeBron James] … I ain’t been nervous in a minute. My first time playing in the Olympics. I definitely was nervous.”
Anthony Edwards: "I was nervous for real, I ain’t gonna lie. I told Bron … I ain’t been nervous in a minute. My first time playing in the Olympics. I definitely was nervous."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) July 11, 2024
Of course, Edwards hasn’t quite played in the Olympics just yet, considering that this was a pre-tournament friendly than anything else. However, perhaps he has chosen to stay aggressive by making himself believe that it has already begun… Or maybe he was just a tad bit more nervous than he realized, and flubbed up his words a bit in the interview.
As for when he may have last been this nervous, he is likely talking about an incident in November 2023. Having gone up for a dunk attempt against the OKC Thunder, Edwards couldn’t quite absorb the contact and fell hard on his hip. This resulted in a serious hip injury that kept him out until an early December 2023 matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
While he looked good in this game, in a postgame interview, he admitted that he was beyond nervous. As per Fan Nation, he said,
“Not a lot of pain. Just scared. Nervous. I didn’t want to do too much… That was the main thing.”
Despite his often-fearless mentality, even Edwards can feel nervous at times, whether it be because of injury, or a tournament he has never stepped foot in. However, being the young gun on this stacked roster, he has all the veterans in the world to help him out and boost his greatness throughout their upcoming campaign in Paris.
Fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar could be in for one heck of a show in the Olympics.
