No doubt Anthony Edwards has made Minnesota Timberwolves games watchable since his debut last year, but is he as good as Michael Jordan?
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The 6’4 guard was McDonald’s All American in his senior year in High School and was a 5-star recruit, but he chose to play college basketball at George Bulldogs for a year.
Averaging just above 19 points in his freshman year, Ant declared for the Draft in 2020 and was the 1st overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his first year against the professional grown men, the then 19-year old rookie averaged 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Although everything till that point was better than the other rookies of his class he did not the rookie of the year award. It was stolen by Michael Jordan’s new point guard LaMelo Ball who is a better playmaker than Edwards.
But playmaking is not what Edwards thrives for. He’s a pure scorer which he is showing this season. The 20-year old is already in comparison with Michael Jordan for how he ended last season and what he has done this campaign so far.
Also read: When Michael Jordan refused to do Disney’s commercial without his Bulls teammates
Next Michael Jordan? Comparing what we have seen from Ant to the best in the game
Ant has been atrocious with the ball since the start of this season. After his 48-point outing against the best-rated defensive team in the league the Golden State Warriors, his averages are 25.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals. He’s up for his first All-star appearance if keeps his performance at the same level.
The kid is only twenty years old and is already playing like a veteran at his peak. Ant is pretty explosive while battling on the court against some of the best defenders in the league, dominating them at the rim, and dropping long-distance bombs. Several aspects of his playing style are pretty similar to the game of elite stars in the 90s. One such move – stealing the ball out of thin air and finishing the play with an energetic slam on the fast break.
He is looking like the guy of the team when it was supposed to become a dynasty led by Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. The latter has taken a step or two back since Ant’s arrival which is not a good sign for the Wolves.
Surely Edwards’ comparison to the one of the best, this early in his career is absurd. But as young as he is, he sure will make a case if he keeps up this form the next few years. He still has a year to catch up to Jordan’s age, as “His Airness” made his debut at 21.
And if he’s grown to 6’6 as his coach said before the season, Ant has already declared that he will become MJ if he made it to Jordan’s height. He will surely need every bit of those few inches if he wants to prolong his career as his game totally relies on athleticism.
Where can Anthony Edwards improve to catch MJ?
Everywhere. MJ’s first year in the league was second to maybe just Wilt Chamberlain. When Jordan made his debut, the league had many all-time greats like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, Isiah Thomas to name a few. Still, he averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals.
Just by numbers, we shouldn’t compare a 21-year-old and a 19-year-old, but Jordan’s persistence made the Bulls who were trying to talk to the best possible draft pick, reach the Playoffs. That was the rookie’s intention in his first season. He wanted to get the wins as much as he wanted to perform, and Ws defined his career.
Win mattered to Jordan more than anything else, he went on to win 6 Championships with the Bulls who hadn’t even won the Conference title before their legend arrived to change the franchise forever. Along the way he shattered many NBA records, still having the best points-average of 30.1 throughout his career, Jordan has 5 MVPs, 6 Finals MVPs, 14 All-Star appearances, and 10 scoring titles.
And then the guy was a defensive juggernaut as well, making it to 9-All Defensive First Teams, which is also an NBA record, 3-time steals leader, and a defensive player of the award. Edwards will have a very hard time developing his defense to this level. And he will have to do it if he wants to chase what Jordan did to make the Wolves a Playoffs team.
Ant has his stage set up to play catch with the best in the game. If he could take Timberwolves to half the success Jordan took the Bulls to, he will be one of the greatest in sport’s history. Comparable to Michael Jordan or not? We will have to see.
