Anthony Edwards says he's the best player in the NBA
The confidence dripping from Anthony Edwards is flowing like the Mississippi River. Making a jump in his third year in the NBA, Edwards is fresh off his first All-Star Game – where he was LeBron James' first pick – and ready to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves down the stretch run of the regular season and into the playoffs.
During All-Star Weekend Edwards had a sit-down conversation with ESPN's Malika Andrews, who queried Edwards about who he thinks is the best player in the NBA.
"I think myself. I think myself because I play both sides of the ball," said Edwards, without batting an eye.
The 21-year-old star then boldly said his ceiling is "higher than anybody's."
Edwards is clearly one of the top young stars in the game. Ja Morant and Luka Doncic made their big jumps in their third years. Doncic was 21 like Edwards and Morant was 22 years old. Here's how Edwards stacks up statistically in Year 3 compared to Doncic's and Morant's third years.
- Edwards: 24.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.5 AST, 53.2 eFG%, 17.8 PER
- Doncic: 27.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 8.6 APG, 55.0 eFG%, 25.3 PER
- Morant: 27.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 53.0 eFG%, 24.4 PER
Doncic and Morant posted better Player Efficiency Ratings (PER) but they also had higher usage rates. That can be connected to the fact that both were/are lead ball-handlers whereas Edwards has spent the bulk of this season as the off guard until a recent move to put the ball in his hands more often. .
Fueling Edwards is his desire to have the world see him.
"I feel like I'm the underdog," Edwards told Andrews. "I was the No. 1 pick and people still don't understand. People still walk up to me and was like, that first time seeing me play was yesterday and like, 'I didn't know you was that good.' So I feel like I still got something to prove."
Edwards believes "something special" is within reach this season if the Timberwolves can stay out of the play-in tournament, which would mean finishing as a top six seed in the West. They're currently a half-game behind sixth place Dallas, two games from fourth place Los Angeles (Clippers) and three games behind third place Sacramento.
His goals within the next few years: "MVP. Definitely a ring, or at least go to the Finals. I gotta do something. And just always be in the top of the West."
When he's done playing in the NBA he wants to be known as: "The best."
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.