PHOENIX — Anthony Edwards had just taken the field for arguably the biggest performance of his young career, hovering over him in a white vest and a baggy all-black Atlanta Braves hat. Perched above his crisp hairline, sitting in front of the world – he looks more like an extra in Outkast’s “Players Ball” video than the future face of the NBA.
Edwards is who he is. stupid. cute. clever. nation. He wore it all, loud and proud. He is also a competitor. A trash talker. He wore them all equally loudly and equally proudly.
You add it all up and you get a star. Add all that up, plus Sunday night’s 40-point performance in a 122-116 playoff sweep of the Phoenix Suns, and you start to get into superstar territory.
Yet, for some reason, Edwards was afraid to go there. Although the 22-year-old is honest, arrogant and confident, he is internally shy when it comes to his place at the sport’s most prestigious club.
A year ago, before a first-round loss to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets, Edwards said he couldn’t consider himself a young star until he “wins the playoffs.”
A year later, he did it. Not only did Edwards win in the playoffs, but he was the leader in series against the likes of Devin Booker and his favorite player, Kevin Durant. Edwards has led his team to heights not seen in 20 years, reaching the second round of the NBA playoffs. He did this by twisting the rim and dunking the ball. He did it with a beautiful shot. He did it with all his defense. He did this through leadership. He did it on WWE’s “Suck It!” Extracurricular activities. He did this while yelling at the player he’s looked up to since he was five years old.
These are the things that make stars. This is what stardom looks like.
“No, not yet, man,” Edwards said Sunday after hitting the benchmark he set for himself a year ago. “not yet.”
Without his knowledge, Edwards lost the privilege of deciding who he was in this league and who he was not.
Kevin Durant congratulated Anthony Edwards after Minnesota swept Phoenix in the first round of the NBA playoffs. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images)
When you score 40 points in a series decider — on the road — you’re a star. When you play 79 regular-season games and are the best player on a team that’s one game shy of the league’s best record, you’re a star. When you’re 22 and become one of 12 athletes to represent your country at the Olympics, you’re a star. When you make everyone laugh every time you’re in front of the microphone and order a McDonald’s on Uber Eats right after the game, like he did in Detroit last season, you’re a star.
“He’s the face of the league,” teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said. “He hates it when I say it, but it’s the truth. Like I said, ‘The future is so bright, you have to wear sunglasses.’ “”
Average players don’t decide to dominate when they have the chance to finish off their opponent for good. They don’t have that ability. The Stars scored 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting in the second half, and their team trailed at halftime just like Edwards did on Sunday. Stars mustered up their last bits of energy late in the fourth quarter to sing “Good night, good night!” for a dunk — just as he did with just over two minutes left, over Bradley Beal on the wing. , dribbled and fired from outside the paint, forcing his childhood hero out of the way while he punished his sister at the rim.
When star players make mistakes in the chaos, they turn on their other star teammate, as Edwards did when Towns committed another unnecessary foul in the balance of the game.
Edwards could no longer escape. No matter how hard he tries. If he doesn’t want to be a star, then stop playing like one.
“He stepped up,” Wolves forward Kyle Anderson told Competitor.
Stars also make their teammates better. That’s what it means to have a star. One’s gravity makes other people’s existence more meaningful.
Edwards disrupted the Suns’ defense as a playmaker. The 40 points will grab the headlines, but he also dished out six assists and only turned the ball over twice in 41 minutes of action. He should have delivered more than 10 assists, but the Wolves couldn’t buy a bucket in the first 24 minutes of the game.
There have been signs of that throughout the season, but it was in this series that Edwards became a creator for others. There were times early in his career when it felt like he failed because he had to. He has nowhere to go.
As the season progressed and the playoff series wound down, Edwards began to welcome blitzes so he could create advantages and get the ball to open players so he could get his teammates involved in the flow of the game. This allows the Timberwolves to potentially accomplish something that only one team has accomplished in the franchise’s 35-year history.
But yeah, Edwards is not a star.
“He’s a good guy,” Minnesota assistant coach Micah Nori said. Odd location. “I mean, they trust him. He has some self-deprecation. You’ve seen all his interviews. He was the first to congratulate him and transferred all the glory to his teammates. They all love him.
“When he plays and makes the right plays, they know he not only cares about himself, but he cares about the team, and he does a great job of that.”
Edwards can continue to shed the label he wants, but if he doesn’t want to embrace it for fear of contentment, it will never go away. His mentality is right. His intentions are good. But for anyone with two eyes and an ounce of sense, it’s impossible not to see a star when they look at Edwards.
From now on, there’s no point in asking Edwards. He lets his game and his personality speak for itself. He never had to say it out loud. We will all continue to say that for him.
“He’s my favorite player to watch,” Durant said of his star pupil after Sunday’s game. “He’s grown a lot since he came into the league. At 22 years old, his love for the game shines so brightly. That’s one of the things I love most about him because he loves basketball and is grateful to be in this position.
“He’s going to be someone I watch for the rest of my career.”
Related Reading
Krawczynski: Timberwolves fans deserve a rare trip to the second round to celebrate
(Top photo: Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)
