by PHOENIX — Fresh off arguably the biggest performance of his young career, Anthony Edwards sat in front of the world in a white tank top and a loose-fitting all-black Atlanta Braves fitted cap, floating just above the line. hair, making him look more like an extra in Outkast’s “Player’s Ball” video than the future face of the NBA.
Edwards is who he is. Silly. Gentle. Intelligent. Country. He wears it all, loudly and proudly. He is also a competitor. A trash talker. He uses all those things with the same strength and with the same pride.
You add all that up and you have one star. Add all those things plus a 40-point performance in a blowout 122-116 playoff victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, and you’re starting to get into stardom.
However, Edwards, for one reason or another, is afraid to go there. As honest, bold and confident as he is and can be, there is a shyness within the 22-year-old when it comes to talking about his stature within the sport’s most prestigious club.
A year ago, before losing in the first round to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets, Edwards said he couldn’t consider himself a young star until he “won in the playoffs.”
A year later, he did. Edwards not only won in the playoffs, but he was the alpha of a series that featured players like Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, his favorite player of all time. Edwards took his organization to heights it hadn’t seen in 20 years, the second round of the NBA playoffs. He did it with dunks that twisted the rim. He did it with a sweet shot stroke. He did it with a defense that gnaws at your arm. He did it with leadership. He did it with WWE “Suck It!” extracurriculars. He did so while he berated the player he admired since he was 5 years old.
These are the things stars do. That’s stardom.
“No, not yet, man,” Edwards said Sunday after reaching the benchmark he set a year ago. “Not yet.”
Edwards, unbeknownst to him, lost the privilege of deciding what he is and what he isn’t in this league.
Kevin Durant congratulates Anthony Edwards after Minnesota swept Phoenix in the first round of the NBA playoffs. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
When you score 40 points in a series-clinching win (on the road), you’re a star. When you played 79 regular-season games and were the best player on a team that was one game away from having the highest record in your conference, you’re a star. When you are one of 12 players, at the age of 22, chosen to represent your country at the Olympic Games, you are a star. When you make everyone laugh every time you’re in front of a microphone, order McDonald’s on Uber Eats immediately after a game, like you did in Detroit last season, you’re a star.
“He’s the face of the league,” said teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, who sat next to Edwards as his reserved side took center stage when discussing his NBA status. “He hates when I say it, but it’s true. Like I said, ‘The future is so bright, I have to put on my sunglasses.’ “
Regular players don’t decide to dominate when they have the chance to finish off their opponent for good. They don’t have that ability. The Stars shot 11 of 15 from the field for 31 points in the second half when their team was trailing at halftime like Edwards did on Sunday. The stars gather their last energy at the end of the fourth quarter to say “Good night!” dunk, as he did with just over two minutes left when he crossed Bradley Beal on the wing, took a dribble, dove from outside the paint and forced his childhood hero out of the way as he punished the rim like if it hit. his sister.
Stars attack their other star teammate in the middle of all the chaos when they do something wrong, as Edwards did when Towns committed another unnecessary foul with the game on the line.
Edwards can’t run away from it anymore. No matter how hard you try. If he doesn’t want to be a star, then he stops playing like one.
“He rose to the occasion,” Wolves forward Kyle Anderson said. The Athletic.
Stars also make their teammates better. That’s the point of having a star. The gravity of one person makes the existence of others more significant.
Edwards tore up the Suns defense as a playmaker. The 40 points will make headlines, but he also had six assists with only two turnovers in 41 minutes of play. He should have had more than 10 assists, but the Wolves couldn’t buy a single basket in the first 24 minutes of the game.
There were signs throughout the season, but it was in this series where Edwards flourished as a creator of others. There were times early in his career where he felt like he had passed away because he had to. There was nowhere else for him to go.
As the season progressed and this playoff series unfolded, Edwards was welcoming blitzes so that he could create advantages to make the pass to an open man, so that he could involve his teammates in the flow of the game, so that this The Timberwolves team could potentially do something only one team has accomplished before in the franchise’s 35-year history.
But yeah, Edwards isn’t a star.
“He’s a good person,” said Minnesota assistant coach Micah Nori, who replaced coach Chris Finch after a fourth-quarter sideline collision left him with a serious leg injury. “And what I mean by that is they trust him. He has some humor of his own. You’ve seen all of his interviews. He is the first to congratulate and transfer all his glory to his companions. Everyone loves him.
“When he plays, he makes the right play and you know he cares, not only about himself but about the team, and he’s done a good job stepping up in that regard.”
Edwards can keep running from the label all he wants, but if he doesn’t want to accept it for fear of being content, it will never go away. His way of thinking is correct. His intentions are good. But there’s no way anyone with two eyes and an ounce of common sense wouldn’t see a star when he looks at Edwards.
As of this point, there’s no point in even asking Edwards about this. He spoke, with his game and his personality. He never needs to say it out loud. We will all continue to say it for him.
“He’s my favorite player,” Durant said of his star student after Sunday’s game. “He has grown a lot since he came to the league. At 22 years old, his love for the game shines brightly. That’s one of the reasons I like him the most, because he loves basketball and he’s grateful to be in this position.
“He’ll be someone I’ll follow for the rest of his career.”
Related reading
Krawczynski: Timberwolves fans deserve to celebrate a rare trip to Round 2
(Top photo: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)