NBA Twitter Jokingly Compares Anthony Edwards To Actor Michael B. Jordan

Social media reacts to Anthony Edwards' three-game playoff slump.

May 24, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) reacts in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks during game two of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards' performances against the Dallas Mavericks has many fans comparing him to Michael Jordan.

Well...Michael B. Jordan, the actor.

Edwards initially drew correlations to the NBA legend after a hot start to the postseason. His play style and trash talk mimicked Jordan, leading to many placing him among the league's top players. However, Edwards has struggled over the last three games, averaging 18.7 points on shooting 29.8 percent from the field. The praise he received early in the playoffs is simmering down, slowly transitioning into criticism for the young star.

The latest slew of jokes were fans comparing him to the acclaimed actor instead of the six-time champion.

“Anthony Edwards is the 2nd coming of Michael Jordan” pic.twitter.com/VEeufOeiW5

— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) May 25, 2024

Some have defended Edwards, citing his youth, playoff inexperience, and extended playing time as justification for the drop in his performance. However, others say this reasoning should halt placing high expectations on Edwards so soon.

"It’s about some people with huge amount of pull very loudly proclaiming things and creating expectations that are wildly unfair," Front Office's Keith Smith tweeted. "Ant is awesome. He’s not the next MJ and that comp was always unfair and dumb. And now he’s taking shit for that idiocy."

It’s not even about that. It’s about some people with huge amount of pull very loudly proclaiming things and creating expectations that are wildly unfair.

Ant is awesome. He’s not the next MJ and that comp was always unfair and dumb. And now he’s taking shit for that idiocy. https://t.co/tYrDcOZsZJ

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 25, 2024

The Timberwolves go to Dallas Sunday night for Game 3. They are trying to avoid going down 0-3 in the series, a deficit no team in league history has come back from.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

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