In the 2023-24 season, Anthony Edwards really took the basketball world by surprise after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Conference Finals. His swift rise in the league as a two-way superstar impressed many in the NBA community, including Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem. Edwards’ bounce, speed and athleticism prompted UD to compare him to Heat legend Dwyane Wade.
Advertisement
However, Wade’s former teammate, Jason Williams, doesn’t think that the two players are similar.
Williams joined ‘The OGs’ podcast hosted by Haslem and Mike Miller to discuss the current landscape of the league. While talking about Edwards’ rise in the league, Williams compared his talent to that of Trace McGrady.
However, the 48-year-old disagreed with Haslem’s comparison between Edwards and Wade. Williams pointed out a key difference between the two.
He said, “I think [Anthony Edwards] has been so good his whole life…he’s been able to get away with who he is. He ain’t really had to to say,…’I got to work on this turnaround or I got to work on my two dribbles left pull up’… Whereas [Dwyane Wade] every summer was in that gym working.”
“He was never as talented and as gifted as Ant-Man from the beginning,” Williams added.
Although Williams mentioned that Wade had a better work ethic than Edwards, it wasn’t a shot at the young star. On the contrary, the 2006 NBA champion wanted to point out that Edwards’ natural talent is very rare even among NBA superstars. On the other hand, Wade was not that gifted and actually had to work hard on his craft to keep up.
The gap in talent between Edwards and Wade is what separates them as players, according to Williams. Instead, the former Heat star compared the Timberwolves star to Tracy McGrady.
“I see a lot of [Tracy McGrady]. Just from the point as like it looks so easy to these dudes. It’s almost like the normal person is like, ‘They’re not even trying, just think how good they can be if they really tried.‘”
McGrady was a sensational scorer in his prime. In the 2002-03 season, the Magic star led the league in scoring with 32.1 points per game.
Although Edwards doesn’t score at the same clip as McGrady, Williams explained the similarities are in the manner in which they can score.
Edwards and Wade’s comparison
Edwards has only played four seasons in his young career. However, he’s fresh off of the best year of his career, where he averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 46.1 % shooting. In comparison to Wade’s fourth year, there certainly are similarities.
Wade in his fourth season averaged 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 49.1 % shooting. In terms of accolades, Edwards is one All-Star appearance shy of Wade in the same amount of years. By his fourth season, the Heat superstar was a three-time All-Star, while Edwards has only two appearances.
Moreover, Wade had led his team to an NBA Championship by his fourth year in the league. Ant is yet to do so, even though he came close this year.
Both players were coached by head coach Tom Crean in college, who specializes in dynamic guards. Their ability to impact the game on defense separates them from other players at their position.
Williams’ statement is valid. However, the two-way ability that Edwards provides is much more reminiscent of Wade than McGrady.
