Phones, drug tests and 2024-25 goals: What we learned from Anthony Edwards

Edwards is back in Minnesota following his debut at the Olympics and a fan festival in New York.

Aug 6, 2024; Paris, France; United States guard Anthony Edwards (5) reacts in the fourth quarter against Brazil in a men’s basketball quarterfinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Fresh off returning to the United States after winning gold at the Paris Olympics, Minnesota Timberwolves 23-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards joined Kevin Durant and Jalen Rose on stage at the Javits Center in New York City for a 30-minute conversation during last weekend's Fanatics Fest. Here's what we learned from Edwards...

Should youngsters put down their phones and chase their dreams?

"I wouldn't say so much like put the phone down. If you know what you want to be, just go for it," Edwards said. "At the end of the day you're going to have your phone, so if you know what you want to do, just go get it. When I turned 15 I knew I wanted to be an NBA player and I just chased it. It happened."

How did he celebrate winning the gold?

"After the gold medal — I'm not gonna lie — me and [Durant] had a, — what do they call it? — a drug test," Edwards said. "We couldn't even celebrate in the locker room because me, him and [Steph Curry] had to take like a drug test or something."

What do the Timberwolves have in store for 2024-25?

"We just gonna try to go further this year. We going to try to be a little better during the regular season because we had a drop off when KAT got hurt. We took a couple steps back but this year we're going to treat training camp like it's the real season, we going to come in ready to go. I'm going to get there a little early, try to set the tone. We made it to the Western Conference finals last year, so that's what we expecting. We can't come out and get sent home in the first round being play-in, so we gotta be ready to go."

last week: win a gold medal 🥇

this week: back in the lab pic.twitter.com/c3S8ll5KlI

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) August 20, 2024

How did it feel knocking Durant and the Suns out of the playoffs?

"I'm not gonna lie, I felt bad a little bit," Edwards said. "Only because he's my favorite player of all time. I didn't want to send him home like that. You know what I mean? It happened, man. I felt bad. I felt bad."