Anthony Edwards comparison to Michael Jordan 'ain't too far off,' scout tells insider
Remember when Patrick Beverley went on J.J. Redick's podcast in March 2022 and acknowledged that he believes Anthony Edwards had a chance to blossom into the next Michael Jordan?
“If I say this, I know you guys are going to look at me like I’m crazy and I’m going to put all that pressure on that kid," Beverley said on Redick's podcast. "But, I told him, 'Man, you got a chance, man. You got a chance, brother, to be Michael Jordan. You really do. You really do.'" Beverley said.
"I've been around a lot of them and the kid doesn't indulge in anything negative -- just all positivity, all video games. His talent level, his skill level, it's crazy. He has a chance to be really special – really special in this league."
Fast forward to today and it's not just Beverley putting Edwards in Club Jordan. ESPN's Tim McMahon, on The Hoop Collective podcast Friday with Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, had a scout tell him that Edwards is similar to Jordan.
"Was talking to some scouts before last night's game and one of them said about Anthony Edwards that he's the next Michael Jordan," McMahon said. "I said that's a bit of hyperbole," said McMahon.
Tim Bontemps then interrupted.
"That's going to get aggregated," he said, suggesting that McMahon's quote would be taken out of context by bloggers.
"Context is coming, butt-sniffers," McMahon responded.
"The guy said, 'Yeah, but it ain't too far off.' His point is, there aren't very many guys that are that elite offensively, this kind of scorer," McMahon continued, "who are also dominant defenders. Dominant defenders. He's coming for Giannis's crown as the best two-way superstar. When you talk about a guy who can light it up like he does offensively and then it's overtime, game on the line, take the challenge and make Jayson Tatum, just lock up Jayson Tatum like he does."
Edwards, still only 22 years old, is averaging career highs across the board through six games in 2023 and has Minnesota off to a 5-2 start ahead of Friday night's In-Season Tournament game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.