Anthony Edwards has been the breakaway star of the 2023-24 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves looking to end the year with the best record in the NBA. However, the 22-year-old star, known for his ambitious belief in himself, refused to crown himself the best player in the NBA during a recent interview.
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In fact, he attributed the position to Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić. During a recent sit-down with Complex‘s Speedy Morman, Edwards decided to underline Jokić’s dominance in the league by putting him ahead of the NBA’s biggest superstars in his rankings.
A few minutes into the interview, Morman asked Edwards where he would rank himself among the best players in the league. The Timberwolves star proclaimed that he is definitely one of the best players in the league.
However, the top spot should be reserved for the reigning MVP of the NBA Finals. “Jokić is first though. I gotta give Jokić his flowers,” Edwards said. “Just how he looked on that playoff run. He just dominated everybody…He just went through everybody.”
The Minnesota guard clarified that he wasn’t just calling the Joker the best because Denver won the Championship this year. But the way the Jokić-led Nuggets offense bulldozed through the Western Conference really convinced Edwards of the Serbian national’s greatness.
“When he did that to AD [Anthony Davis], it was like alright, yeah, he is the best. AD is the closest person who can guard him in the league,” the 2023 All-Star added. Jokić not only dominated his matchup with AD, but the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. After their dominant campaign last year, Edwards’ claim of hailing the Joker as the best in the league is hardly a controversial take.
Anthony Edwards compares the Joker with LeBron and KD
After he hailed Jokić as the best player in the league, Edwards was asked about the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant and how they compared to the Nuggets superstar. Even though he didn’t blatantly declare the Joker to be better than Bron and KD, Ant implied that the two veteran superstars were past their prime and their reputation rested on their past exploits.
During the same interview, Edwards also claimed that Michael Jordan wouldn’t be able to guard him if His Airness’ prime self played in the league today. While the Minnesota SG gave MJ his due respect, he also showed extreme faith in his own skills as an offensive player. It is interesting that Ant picked Jokić ahead of himself as the best player in the league but refused to accept that a prime MJ would lock him down.
