Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been arguably the biggest story of the 2024 NBA playoffs so far, and it is starting to look like he is worthy of the Michael Jordan comparisons people have placed on him.
He has led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, somewhat unexpectedly as they up-ended the defending world champion Denver Nuggets in the previous round by snatching Game 7 from the jaws of defeat on the road.
But Edwards struggled in Game 1 of the West finals, going just 6-of-16 from the field in a 108-105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and afterward, he admitted that he was tired, something that Karl-Anthony Towns also admitted to.
On his podcast, Draymond Green, who says he’s a fan of Edwards, said he felt the 22-year-old showed some weakness by saying he was tired down the stretch of Game 1, per ClutchPoints.
“The great young leader that Ant-Man is… I thought he showed weakness in the interview last night for the first time.”
Draymond Green on Anthony Edward’s postgame interview last night 👀
(via @TheVolumeSports)pic.twitter.com/f229MLGPP3
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 23, 2024
In Green’s mind, Dallas, which is a somewhat more veteran team than the Timberwolves, now has something to exploit moving forward.
The other side of this is the fact that leaders must hold themselves accountable, and in admitting to being fatigued, perhaps that is what Edwards did.
Edwards is the rare NBA star who not only has the chutzpah to call himself the best player in the game but also has the goods to consistently back it up.
Even when he has struggled offensively, as he did in Game 7 versus Denver, he has made his mark on the defensive end, and he is a big defensive standout in addition to his immense offensive ability.
The next step for him in his maturation into a true superstar and franchise player is to shoot the basketball more consistently at this stage of the playoffs and to continue to will his team to victories in games it looks like they should end up losing.
