Following a tight win over the LA Clippers last night, Anthony Edwards reflected on his longstanding relationship with fellow Adidas star, James Harden. The Timberwolves star revealed that his rapport with Harden began long before he was in the league.
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“That’s my man. I’ve been a fan of Harden since I was in high school,” Edwards said in a post-game locker room interview. “He wrote to me when I was in like high school on Instagram and you know, we just been locked in there ever since.”
It’s somewhat of a revelation as neither star has touched on their history in the last few years. However, Ant-Man was also quick to move away from the past and claim that he was talking smack to him after a foul call in the game.
When Edwards was asked how it felt to have a league MVP reach out to him before he was even an NBA player, he said, “That’s when he was at his peak so, you know what I mean, that was dope. That was dope. I mean, I’m not like a big, I don’t really, like, it didn’t mean too much to me, but it was just, you know, super dope for him to take the time out of his day. Cause I know how busy people are.”
“He took the time out of his day to hit me up on Instagram, like, ‘Keep going young fella’, and I was like, ‘Fosho’.”
Anthony Edwards and James Harden had a fun chat where they went from trash talking each other to a full circle moment about being the faces of Adidas Basketball.
Ant Man shared that before he made it to the NBA, James Harden would send him supportive messages on Instagram.. pic.twitter.com/RyXy9MqSm0
— SneakerReporter (@SneakerReporter) November 30, 2024
Ant signed with Adidas upon entering the league in 2020, while the Beard has remained with the three stripes since 2015. The Wolves star did reflect on how their bond has come full-circle now with the two guards becoming the face of Adidas basketball. But given his history with the sport, it is understandable why Ant-Man didn’t necessarily have a fan moment when the Beard hit him up.
Growing up, Edwards only had his eyes on one player
3 days before the 2020 NBA Draft, an ESPN interview of the Georgia Bulldogs guard aired online. In it, he revealed, “To be honest, I can’t watch basketball.”
He has time and again touched on his history as a multi-sport athlete, who was rather late to commit to basketball. That makes his indifference at Harden’s text a little clearer as Edwards probably wasn’t watching the Beard’s 2018 MVP season. The only player that captivated Ant though, was Harden’s former teammate, Kevin Durant.
He has referred to the Slim Reaper as his “favorite player of all time” on numerous occasions, especially after he knocked out Durant’s Suns in the first round of the 2024 Playoffs.
During the summer, Edwards revealed to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps how KD first got on his radar. “Well, I went to a game in Atlanta, and it was a Thunder game and Kevin was playing. And I watched him and I was like, ‘That’s my favorite player.’”
In fact, Ant is so high on Durant that he admitted to feeling bad after sweeping his favorite player last season. That’s a rare admission from the highly competitive 23-year-old.
