Draymond Green is known for his rough-and-tumble play style and often attacks his opponent with his words while he is at it. Talking trash and being braggadocious has always been part of Green’s defensive schemes, as he often tries to get in players’ heads. So when Green ‘toots an athlete’s horn’ as a trash talker, means the player is doing something right. During a recent episode of ‘The 520 Podcast’ episode, Green went all in, when talking about Anthony Edwards.
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Edwards became the topic of conversation while Green and the hosts were talking about the league’s best trash talkers. Revealing the Wolves guard’s activities on the court, the Warriors forward said, “Ant (Anthony Edwards) talks more than anybody by the way, and he’s so good there’s not much you can say. Like I’m going to go there with you like I’m going to talk non-stop, but he talks to everybody and he’s that good so there’s not much you can do or say.”
Impressed by the youngster’s game maturity and leadership, he added,
“He knows he’s good and that’s dangerous and he’s carrying that team, which is nuts because they’ve got some guys that have lost a lot on that team and he’s carrying them like they some winners. That’s a special gift man.”
Green’s comments about Edwards came after, just a few months back, both were caught jawing off, during a regular season matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves would go on to beat the Warriors 116-110.
Anthony Edwards has taken a big leap this year, as he currently looks like the best player on a stacked Timberwolves team. Ant-man is averaging 26.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 54 appearances this year. Even though his numbers aren’t eye-popping, they surely don’t paint an accurate picture of Edwards’s influence on the team.
A new generation of guards has arrived
Stephen Curry is without contest, the best guard in the NBA right now but he is also in the later years of his career and will eventually slow down. But the same cannot be said about younger guards like Edwards and Haliburton.
Former Clippers guard Austin Rivers had praise for Edwards after his recent scoring spree. Putting Edwards over every other guard in the league, Rivers said,
“This guy demands that respect, and he’s going out there and doing it every single night,” Rivers said. “He is, on his best nights, and how he’s playing right now, the best guard in the NBA. Yes, I said that. He’s a bad man, two-way player, three-level scorer, clutch, can finish at the basket, mid-range, shoot the long ball, off the dribble, or catch and shoot – everything.”
“He is, on his best nights and how he’s playing right now, the best guard in the NBA.” @AustinRivers25 on Anthony Edwards. pic.twitter.com/sRvW1o6W8Y
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 19, 2024
Rivers might have been a little too premature with his statements about Edwards. Even though Ant-Man, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Tyrese Haliburton will most probably battle it out for the top spot, as of now, Curry is undoubtedly the best. Unlike the three youngsters, Curry has a polished game and unlimited range. Edwards hasn’t been a very consistent three-point shooter and needs to add more long-range weapons to his arsenal.