Anthony Edwards may be a terrifying force on the NBA court, but his closest friends know his softer side. Nick Maddox probably knows Ant-Man better than anyone. The two met playing ball at a high school in Atlanta and have remained tight ever since. Maddox even shot and directed a documentary film entitled Anthony Edwards, By His Best Friend Nick Maddox. Adidas produced the project and shows how deep their relationship has gone from Ant’s high school playing days to his NBA success.
Advertisement
“We went to the same school, boom. Played the same sport, boom. Live somewhat close to each other, boom,” stated Edwards in the film. He would go on to detail how he and Maddox were just “always hanging out,” and that his buddy would even drive him home after basketball practice. Years later, Ant would get drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves — and has proven himself as one of the NBA’s brightest young superstars.
So when Edwards did a recent video with GQ that involved him responding to fan messages, of course, his good friend Maddox joined him for the fun. At one point, someone asked on Instagram, “why is Nick not hoopin?” Maddox jokingly responded, “I got my pension and got the hell on.” As much as Maddox wished that were true, Edwards revealed the true story of why his buddy stopped playing ball, and it had to do with how he was as a school student.
“He got kicked off the team for being bad in school,” answered Edwards. Despite having a smile, he did offer anyone who was listening, especially kids, some sound advice. “For the kids who are watching this. Y’all be good in school. If y’all want to be able to play basketball, do all your schoolwork. Do your homework. Be good in school so you don’t get kicked off the team because it results in questions like this.”
Edwards didn’t want to leave the audience with a poor impression of his friend Nick. “He was not a bad kid at all,” he clarified. “He was just acting out.” Maddox later confirmed that he was let back onto the team thanks to some “strong-arming” by Edwards. The duo each smiled, recalling the memory, an indication that they probably have 1000s of stories together that illicit the same type of reaction.
Later in the video, Ant would answer some more thought-provoking questions, including his perspective on his now-famed viral interaction with President Barack Obama that was captured for the Court of Gold. We unfortunately did not get to have Nick’s reaction to that, because it most likely would have been priceless.
One thing is that Ant and Nick were out celebrating after the Timberwolves put a pounding on the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the postseason. Who knows what shenanigans the two lifelong buds got into afterward?
