Stories From the G: Rob Edwards' Rise From Unranked Status to the League

Concluding high school as an unranked prospect, Rob Edwards has climbed the ranks to make his NBA debut.

In basketball, everyone has their own story. With a collegiate pool nearing 18,000 basketball players and a mere 60 NBA draft spots up for grabs each year – making it to the NBA ranks as one of the toughest tasks in sports.

This past week, the Oklahoma City Thunder made that NBA dream realized for 24-year-old Rob Edwards. After years of dedication to his craft, he earned his first ticket to the big stage.

But for the guard, his journey to the NBA stretches far further than his first buzz at the scorer’s table.

Edwards spoke to SI Thunder this week to discuss his journey to the pros and get a gauge on what it was like to receive his first call-up to the NBA.

Growing up in Michigan, Edwards impressed across Class A ranks, building his basketball status with Detroit Jesuit High School before transferring to Cass Tech as an upperclassman. As a senior, he notched an all-state honorable mention posting averages of 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

However, by the end of his high-school career, Edwards had been unranked as a prospect – receiving only one offer by graduation from Cleveland State.

“My guys were already at a school, Cleveland State,” Edwards told SI Thunder. “They went to my high school, and I’d known them from around the neighborhood, so they were real cool with me. But, they influenced the coach to take a chance on me and give me that offer. The school was recruiting me some, but never trusted me enough to give me that offer, so I was blessed to get that one. I had a couple other schools looking at me, but no one really wanted to give me an offer, or take that chance on me.”

In the guard’s tenure with the Vikings, Edwards sprouted success as an instant starter, earning All-Horizon All-Freshman team honors while averaging 12.4 points. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-3 guard earned a second-team All-Horizon nod with a team-leading 16.5 points.

As a result of his mid-major success, Edwards opted to transfer to Arizona State as an upperclassman, taking a redshirt year after switching programs.

The Sun Devils’ junior year slotted the guard into a backcourt duo with five-star Freshman Lu Dort. However, with Dort venturing to the pros as a one-and-done product, Edwards remained with the Sun Devils for his senior year. In it, the guard took major strides as a perimeter piece, checking in over 65% of his shots from deep to average 11.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in his final collegiate season.

From there, Edwards failed to hear his name called in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Despite the adversity, Edwards’ pursuit of an NBA avenue would not end there. Instead, the guard opted to go the G League route, being selected with the Oklahoma City Blue’s final pick in the draft – round two, pick seven.

The undrafted guard entered his rookie season placed in a loaded backcourt with the Blue. Even with a heavy rotation, he earned his stripes in a jiffy. After a 21-point debut, Edwards emerged as the Blue’s top option off the bench, frequently putting games away by halftime with explosive scoring outbursts.

By season’s end, the sharpshooter averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting a team-high 44.0% from distance.

“It [The bubble season] was kind of quick,” said Edwards. “It didn’t feel like 15 games, it felt a lot longer, probably because we were doing the same thing every day. But, it was a good experience for me. I felt like it was a blessing for me just to go and show guys what I can do. It showed that I could shoot the ball at a high level.”

When the G League’s season concluded last March, the undrafted guard spent his extended offseason entirely in the gym, going in and out twice a day. In those workouts, the emphasized the less-advertised parts of his game, such as ball-handling, putting up floaters, and perfecting his touch around the rim.

When it was time to join the Thunder’s Summer League roster in Vegas – the offseason work carried straight into the stat sheet, igniting for a team-best 23 points on two separate occasions.

By the conclusion of the 24-year-old’s Summer-League campaign, interest from overseas came his way. But, he opted to continue his journey through the NBA ranks.

“[I considered heading overseas] A little bit, I was thinking about all of that,” said Edwards. “I had so many thoughts going through my head. But, I felt like I could kind of hang in the league and make an impact and shoot the ball at a high level on a team [in Oklahoma City] who needed that. I wanted to take a chance and just see how I could do in the Summer League and try to wait it out and see if I could get a training camp invite if a team liked me, and that’s what happened. I was blessed that my plan had worked. Most people say spend two-to-three years in the G before you go overseas so I didn’t want to do that route right away. So I just wanted to stick with it and see where it would take me.”

Edwards’ plan had worked in inking a training camp deal with the Thunder, even posting six preseason points in the process. But as the organization began their first wave of roster cuts, he was right back to the OKC Blue.

The sharpshooter had played par to his rookie numbers during the first 15 games of the Winter Showcase group stages, averaging 12.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists heading into the tournament.

As for added stakes to the event, a league-wide surge in health-and-safety cases across the NBA meant that if you had the hot hand in the Showcase Cup, chances were you were getting a call-up. However, through two games in the Winter Showcase, the guard’s high scoring-outputs wavered as with a combined 11 points leading into finals, he needed a big closing act.

“[Going into the Final] I just knew I had to make an impact,” said Edwards. “I didn’t care what was going on. I didn’t care what was said about me or how I played the previous games. Like, I knew I was going to come out and make an impact in that game. I just had to switch my mindset from the games that happened previously. A lot of stuff that goes into it can get you off your path and get you out of the mold that you’re in, and that’s kind of what happened to me. I just had to lock in and get back on track. And that’s what happened.”

By the final buzzer, the Detroit-native had tapped back into his bag of tricks, posting 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the Blue’s nailbiter defeat.

Coincidentally enough, five days after the Showcase Cup, Edwards had been scouting vacation spots on YouTube. With one phone call, a vacation is exactly what he got. Was the destination an all-expense trip to Paris, Maui, or Tahiti? No. However, the destination was even better – a 10-day deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I was laying in the bed at my sister’s spot watching YouTube videos about vacations,” said Edwards. “Then, the GM of the Blue called me at three o’clock and said, ‘could you get on a flight at six', and, I said, ‘of course.’ Then, he told me I would be on a 10-day, I’d start tomorrow, so I needed to get there ASAP. I was supposed to go see a couple of my family members that day but I had to call them and tell them I had to get on this flight, so I had to pack my bags real quick and get to the airport.”

Through Edwards’ first three games, playing time had been minimal for the 24-year-old as outside of two fourth-quarter minutes – he sifted through the front end of his deal on little run.

That changed on Sunday evening, as with Thunder members Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort out with injury, the guard found out during game day shootaround that he was in the rotation. He made the most with his opportunity,  tallying his first NBA bucket.

“I knew I had to get a bucket that game,” said Edwards. “I had to. I got one shot up [in the debut], but I missed it. This time, I was like, whatever happens, I’m gonna get a bucket while I’m out here. So, I got a rebound, came down, and I felt like I was in the zone. He was below the three-point line, so I just rose up and hit it [a left-winged pull-up.] It was open. That’s definitely one of my spots, one of my go-to's. If you sag off over there, I might pop up and shoot at that left-wing.”

By the end of play, Edwards capped the evening with three points and three rebounds across nine minutes.

With the conclusion of his 10-day deal Wednesday, the guard has since rejoined the Oklahoma City Blue for their upcoming West-Coast matchups. But, the journey has not finished for Edwards as he’ll be continuing to make his mark in the G League.

“I’m just going to keep trying to improve, keep trying to get my numbers up, keep trying to help my team win, and be a great basketball player,” said Edwards. Then, I’ll see where the future takes me.”

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