Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fresh off one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history. He won the scoring title, MVP and Finals MVP en route to leading OKC to a championship. After a season such as that, it makes sense why many people believe he is the best player in the league. It certainly helps that the Thunder are dominating competition once more, currently holding an NBA-best 38-10 record. However, there are certainly other guards who aren’t too far behind SGA.
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One of the most prominent players on that list is Anthony Edwards. The Minnesota Timberwolves star is highly regarded as the best shooting guard in the NBA, supported by his back-to-back selections as a member of the All-NBA Second Team.
He could certainly climb up the ranks, considering he continues to get better each year. This season in particular, Edwards is having a career year offensively. He is currently averaging 29.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on 49.6% shooting from the field. Tracy McGrady has taken all this into consideration, which has led him to compare Edwards to Shai.
“I think Ant-Man is right there with Shai, if not better,” McGrady said on the Cousins Podcast.
Tracy McGrady says Anthony Edwards is right there, if not better than SGA
“I think Ant Man is right there with Shai. If not, better. He’s a on the ball lockdown defender. I think his competitive drive and spirit is different than everybody else’s. I think he has less talent… pic.twitter.com/4Ibr0E61PL
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 29, 2026
That is one mighty claim from the Hall-of-Fame forward. However, he didn’t make it without explaining why.
“He’s an on-the-ball lockdown defender. I think his competitive drive and spirit are different than everybody else’s,” McGrady proclaimed.
One area in which Edwards excels is his competitive fire. He has shown the lengths he will go to overcome his competition on countless occasions. The most notable being his reluctance to back down from his idol, Kevin Durant, during the Timberwolves’ first-round series against the Phoenix Suns in 2024.
People also often fail to mention that Edwards has led Minnesota to the most successful stretch in franchise history. Before the 2024 season, the last time the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals was in 2004. They have now reached the Finals twice in the last two seasons.
McGrady believes that has to be worth something, especially considering the surrounding talent disparity between Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander.
“I think he has less talent on his roster than Shai,” McGrady said.
It is certainly an unpopular opinion to elevate Edwards over Gilgeous-Alexander. However, it isn’t as outlandish of a take as some may believe at first glance. Who knows how the narrative can change in the coming months?
The Thunder no longer look as unbeatable as they did earlier in the season. If Edwards is able to lead the Timberwolves to the NBA Finals, McGrady may end up looking more genius than fool.
