Skip Bayless Labels Anthony Edwards’ Dominance ‘Jordanesque’ Following Game 6 Win

It’s no secret that a major chunk of the NBA world now refers to Anthony Edwards as the second coming of Michael Jordan. This narrative started propagating during the 2023 FIBA World Cup as footage of the Team USA SG elegantly nailing fadeaways from mid-range fueled the MJ-ANT similarity index. After his incredible 27-point performance in the Game 6 blowout against the Nuggets, Skip Bayless doubled down on Edwards’ propensity to resemble his favorite athlete.

The FS1 analyst pointed out how Mike Conley’s return in Game 6 enabled Edwards to unleash his incredible off-the-ball game as his number of touches decreased. Compared to Game 5, Ant-man touched the ball 38 times less, meaning that Conley took a lot of the ball-handling burden away from him. 

“In Game 5 with no Mike Conley, Ant-man had to touch the ball a 102 times. Last night, Game 6, he dominated it with low touches. He only touched it 64 times. He didn’t need to initiate,” Bayless told Paul Pierce and Keyshawn Johnson on Undisputed.

Then the veteran journalist highlighted that Edwards’ lockdown defense took a lot of physical toll on Jamal Murray. During the Game 6 loss, Murray had his second-worst shooting performance of the series as he missed 14 of his 18 attempts from the field. Bayless also noted that Edwards’ defensive pressure on Murray proved that he “cares about defense at a young age”.

This prompted him to liken the two-way guard’s defensive focus to Michael Jordan, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award during the 1987-88 season. 

“The best thing about him [Ant] is that he cares about the defensive end already at a very young age. He wants to dominate on that end as well as the other, that is also Jordan-esque,” Bayless added.

Thus, the 72-year-old added to the narrative of Anthony Edwards being an identical player to Michael Jordan. Both the past legend’s and Edwards’ peers also believe that ANT has eerie similarities with MJ.

Is Anthony Edwards a Michael Jordan prototype?

In February 2024, Kevin Garnett declared that Edwards reminds him of the 1984-85 Rookie of the Year version of Michael Jordan.  Anthony Edwards also gave his seal of approval to KG’s remarks. He acknowledged the lofty praise from the “OG” and expressed that “whatever he says, goes”.

Apart from the Timberwolves legend, Edwards’ teammate Mike Conley also posited that his superstar teammate plays just like the early 20s version of the 6x Finals MVP.

In early May 2024, Mike Conley told the Inside the NBA crew that Edwards reminds him of “a young Michael Jordan.”  The body language punctuated by his trash-talking, immense focus, and a carefree attitude off the court has led to the belief that it is not just his game style but also his mannerisms that remind people of MJ.

The age factor is also one of the main reasons why the Wolves’ two-way superstar has fetched Air Jordan comparisons. Interestingly MJ was about 22 years old when he won the ROTY honors, while the 22-year-old Wolves SG is already on the cusp of a Western Conference Finals charge in his fourth season.