One of the highlights of last season’s playoffs was seeing the Phoenix Suns get swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Led by the then-22-year-old Anthony Edwards, the Wolves shocked many by dismantling the Kevin Durant-led Superteam. On his way to the sweep, Ant also managed to talk trash to KD, which went viral on the Internet.
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Ant talking trash to Durant made headlines because the T-Wolves star has been very vocal about his admiration for the two-time NBA Champion. Therefore, the youngster talking smack to his idol rubbed some people the wrong way.
During a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Edwards’ teammate Karl-Anthony Towns made it clear that Ant could never disrespect KD.
Toward the end of the third quarter in Game 1, Edwards hit a three-pointer to make it a four-point game. In the heat of the moment, he started walking backwards while facing KD and tried to get a reaction out of him by making fun of his age. Although KAT wasn’t aware about this at the time, he later saw the footage and was impressed by what his teammate did.
Towns told PG and his crew, “I think what’s great is that the fans and everyone recognize that this was no disrespect towards him at all. This was just Ant having so much emotion for playing the game, so passionate about playing someone like KD and just being able to express it at the moment…I think that was a special moment for him and I’m happy he had that moment.”
Even while it was happening, KD was seen smiling at Ant because he knew very well how Ant was feeling at the moment. Durant took Ant-Man’s passionate outburst sportingly without construing it as disrespect.
However, the two-time All-Star recently revealed that he was left with regrets after he swept his hero in the playoffs.
Anthony Edwards regrets beating Kevin Durant 4-0 in the playoffs
Ant recently shared the stage with KD at the Fanatics Fest where he was asked by Jalen Rose about his feelings after sending KD home in four straight games. He said, “I’m not gonna lie, I felt bad a little bit, only because he’s my favorite player of all-time. I didn’t wanna send him home like that.”
Even though he regrets the outcome of that series, Ant can be proud of the fact that winning 4-0 earned him Durant’s respect. During a conversation with Yahoo Sports, KD had said, “I respect that, that players who come out there and, you know, they say something and they’re going to prove it… And that’s what he (Edwards) did in that series. He played his a*s off. You gain so much respect.”
Ant is a very expressive individual on the court which makes him a treat to watch every time he gets fired up during games. His personality must’ve taken over when he was hitting threes against his idol in the playoffs, which led to him talking trash.
