Anthony Edwards ranks last in statistical comparison of NBA's top 10 guards

Looking at an interesting thread that shows Ant still has a ways to go, efficiency-wise.

Apr 2, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in action against the Houston Rockets in the first quarter at Target Center. / Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards is unquestionably one of the brightest young stars in the NBA right now. Between a play style that lends itself to incredible highlights, a personality that is constantly generating viral clips, and major recent exposure in the playoffs and the Olympics, the 23-year-old is becoming one of the new faces of the league.

However, an interesting thread from a fan account on X/Twitter shows Edwards still has a long ways to go — from a purely on-court perspective — to be considered one of the best guards in the NBA. In the thread, @ThomasBuckets78 uses various metrics to rank a (seemingly arbitrary) list of the league's top ten guards. "No bias, just the numbers," he wrote.

Who are the best guards in the NBA?

I used 10 different metrics to rank the 10 best guards in the league and determine who comes out on top. No bias, just the numbers. pic.twitter.com/4169EYLcO3

— Thomas 🏀⚾️ (@ThomasBuckets78) August 19, 2024

Over the course of the thread, Thomas uses ten different graphs, each one including two similar statistics "that attempt to measure one aspect of guard play." He then awards points to each player based on how well they do on each graph (here's an explanation of how he did that).

These are the categories he used:

* Scoring effectiveness
* Playmaking
* Can you find the ball?
* Hard shots and easy shots
* Clutch performers
* Scoring in isolation
* Driving
* Outside the paint
* Pull up or spot up
* Playoff performers

Edwards finished tenth out of ten. I'd recommend looking at the entire thread, but here are the final standings:

Final standings! pic.twitter.com/QvJRYFEt7m

— Thomas 🏀⚾️ (@ThomasBuckets78) August 19, 2024

Edwards got repeatedly and severely dinged throughout this exercise because of his lack of shooting efficiency. He's an exciting scorer and a high-volume player, but his efficiency remains far from elite. He shot just under 36 percent from three this season, was dreadful from midrange, and had the lowest true shooting percentage of any of the ten players in this comparison.

With his 5.1 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game, Ant also comes up short in the playmaking category, though it's worth noting that he's a shooting guard going up against a group that includes the league's elite point guards.

Areas where Ant scored well or at least OK in the thread were in the "can you find the ball?" section (rebounds and steals/blocks), isolation scoring, driving — he led the list in points per drive — and playoff performances. But if you look at the thread, you'll see just how badly he was hurt in the shooting efficency categories.

"Ant legitimately does not do anything at an elite level besides drive to the rim," Thomas said in his conclusion post. "I am extremely confused why people pretend he's a top 5 guard, let alone top 3. None of the numbers say he's that good."

I think the most notable pro-Ant point that could be raised as a counter to this thread is that it does nothing to incorporate on-ball defense (which is admittedly difficult to measure). Edwards is probably the best on-ball defender of the group and was a big part of the NBA's best defense last season.

It's also just a random thread from a fan account, so it should be taken with a grain of salt, but all the statistics appear to be accurate.

The overall takeaway is that Edwards still has a lot of room to grow when it comes to shot selection, playmaking, and efficiency. And at just 23 years old, he has plenty of time to do it.

Even if he remains who he was last season for the rest of his career — a somewhat inefficient 26/5/5 guy who attacks the rim and can go to elite levels on defense — he'll be a superstar for a long time because of his highlights, scoring explosions, and personality. But for the Timberwolves to take the next step and get over the hump, a bit more efficiency and playmaking from Edwards could go a long way.