Anthony Edwards Shares How He Felt Eliminating Idol Kevin Durant From NBA Playoffs

Patrick Andres | Aug 19, 2024

Aug 3, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; United States guard LeBron James (6), guard Kevin Durant (7) and guard Anthony Edwards (5) on the bench in the fourth quarter against Puerto Rico during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Timberwolves' sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs was a milestone victory—not only for the Timberwolves, but for guard Anthony Edwards, who signaled his arrival in the upper echelon of superstars.

Making the victory even sweeter for Edwards was the fact that he defeated Suns forward Kevin Durant—his boyhood idol and future Olympic teammate. On Saturday, however, Edwards told ex-NBA stalwart Jalen Rose that the victory came with mixed emotions.

"I'm not gonna lie. I felt bad a little bit," Edwards said with Durant sitting nearby. "Only because he's my favorite player of all time. I didn't wanna send him home like that, you know what I mean?"

I asked @theantedwards_ how he felt about knocking his idol @KDTrey5 out of the playoffs…

“I’m not gonna lie.. I felt bad a little bit.” pic.twitter.com/G9xyBhtNBi

— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) August 17, 2024

Edwards averaged an eye-popping 31 points, eight rebounds and 6.3 assists per game against Phoenix, which saw its season end before the conference semifinals for the first time since 2020.

The two teams' highly anticipated first matchup of the 2025 season is scheduled for Nov. 17.