Minnesota Timberwolves starting shooting guard Anthony Edwards has been leading his team from a bottom team in the whole NBA to potentially making the finals in only two seasons. This current 2023-2024 season has been historical for him, as he has even been compared to Michael Jordan from his performance. The main thing that is so surprising to fans however is how Edwards has developed this fast, so early in his career.
Anthony Edwards is separating himself from the rest of the league as out of everyone in the NBA who is 22 years old or younger, he has the leading with 26.4 points per game (ppg) and in 5th place with 5.2 assists per game (APG). These numbers are historical for the NBA as only 7 other players have averaged 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, and all of these players are either NBA legends or current superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Tracy Mcgrady. Being the primary scorer on his team at such a young age comes with pressure that he has stated “doesn’t affect him much,” and really sees it as a motivation factor that pushes him to do more
One of Edwards’s most forgotten but still impactful skills that he dominates in is his defensive ability, as statistics tend to leave out a large part of it. When recognizing how short of a time he has been in the league he has already risen the charts ranking 12th in defensive rating and 3rd in defensive win shares. Recognizing these stats just further boosts the idea that he has a very similar play style to Michael Jordan, as they both have the ability to score with ease while also doing a great job playing defense on the other side of the court. Not only is Anthony Edwards producing a top-tier defensive ability in comparison to some of the best guards in the history of the NBA, but he is also exceeding them. Although Michael Jordan was ranked 6th with a defensive rating of 101.5, he didn’t achieve this until he was 24 years old. Edwards on the other hand was ranked 12 with a higher defensive rating of 109.2 at only 22 years old. If he keeps this pace he will be awarded the Defensive Player of the Year, and be the youngest player to receive this award since Kawhai Leonard currently holds this title at 23 years old.
