Individually, there’s a lot to love about Anthony Edwards’ game. He’s an incredibly gifted athlete who can jump out of the gym, and Ant can get to the rim at will against almost any individual defender. Edwards specializes in highlight reel plays, and the fact that he’s engaging, charming and willing to give outrageous quotes makes him an instant media magnet.
That’s the good part. Edwards has actually been compared to Michael Jordan, but MJ isn’t really the right comp when it comes to Ant. It’s actually Russell Westbrook, who’s now firmly embedded in the "fading journeyman" part of his career, but this comp is actually a big part of the reason why the Minnesota Timberwolves are having all kinds of problems building a true championship roster around Edwards.
Like the young Westbrook, Anthony Edwards is a high flyer who makes acrobatic plays
One big reason the Jordan comparisons don’t work is the size question, with Ant listed at 6’4”, while Jordan was 6’6”. Those two inches may not sound like a lot, but Jordan’s size gave him extra length, which meant he could defend every position on the floor and terrorize opponents together with Scotty Pippen, and it gave him an extra advantage when it came to challenging bigs and posting up smaller guards.
The Westbrook comp--he's been listed at 6'3"-- works much better when it comes to size. Edwards is thicker and stronger than Westbrook was back in his prime, but he still has the ability to soar above defenders, especially when he’s out on the break. Both guys build their success around the ability to use their size to bully the opposition in certain situations, whether it’s running the floor to block a seemingly certain layup or splitting multiple defenders in the lane and posterizing at least one of them in the process.
Big numbers, big quotes and highlight reel “me” plays
The numbers are another reason this comp works. Back when he was an NBA pup, Westbrook was all about posting big numbers, whether those numbers were big point totals or triple doubles. Anthony Edwards is the same in this regard, and he’s currently averaging almost 28 points a game, including a big jump in three-point percentage to over 46 percent.
Edwards also comes up big when it comes to attitude and noteworthy quotes, with his comment at the Olympics this summer being a perfect example. Rather than back down and admit that he was a junior guy compared to LeBron and Steph, Ant insisted that he was still “the man,” despite all evidence to the contrary. Edwards also has that alpha dog factor that nearly every superstar has, but he comes with an extra verbal gear that allows him to completely ignore common sense when it suits him.
This is very reminiscent of how Russell Westbrook operated back in the day, but there was one thing that remained missing from his incredible basketball resume, and he’s still chasing it coming off the bench for the Nuggets.
The roster building problems presented by Anthony Edwards and Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook never won a title in OKC, or anywhere else for that matter. He came close early on, and the same could be said of Anthony Edwards, who came up small against Dallas last year after Minnesota took down the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Similarly, Minnesota sits at 6-6 right now, despite some roster moves designed to promote Ant as the Wolves primary guy. They traded Karl Anthony Towns to the Knicks, adding Dante DiVincenzo for perimeter defense and bench scoring, along with Julius Randle, who’s ball dominant but comes with a smaller, more moveable contract. The move is also about adding financial flexibility to support Edwards as he grows into his game.
Will it work? Right now, the extremely small sample size says no. There’s still plenty of time for the Wolves to figure it out, of course, but it’s hard with guys like Anthony Edwards. He'll be a five-year vet at the end of this season, but Edwards is going to have make major sacrifices in his game to accommodate team needs, and given his history it’s hard to see that happening.