IN YOUR ROLE As CEO of USA Basketball, it's not often that Grant Hill has a hard time contacting players he's considering for the team. Even in non-Olympic years, that's a decision virtually every NBA superstar will make or quickly return to.
But, in his attempts to make the 2023 FIBA World Cup team, there was one star that Hill couldn't reach.
“I couldn't get in touch with Ant,” Hill told ESPN of the then-21-year-old who took the league by storm. “I have spoken to [Minnesota Timberwolves president] Tim Connelly. I talked to all these people around him. But he gave me the feeling that he was hesitant about it and didn't really know why.”
Anthony Edwards was young and had little experience with the FIBA game, having participated in a couple of training camps, but never playing for the national team. Never in a million years did Hill believe Edwards might be questioning whether he belonged on Team USA.
“I think it was the uncertainty of doing something outside of his norm,” Edwards' longtime manager, Justin Holland, told ESPN. “He had never been out of the country. He had always liked to exercise alone in the summers. So it was more about putting himself in an environment that he didn't fully control.”
Such introspection is difficult to reconcile with the effervescent, ultra-confident young star who has become the face of this season's playoffs. But it's a reflection of how far Edwards has come in one year: suffering from imposter syndrome and being the example of this new generation of NBA superstars.
Just two weeks ago, the Timberwolves swept one of Edwards' idols, Kevin Durant, and the Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Wolves have pushed the defending champion Denver Nuggets further than any opponent in two years: to a Game 7 on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on TNT).
Not only did he become, in the words of head coach Steve Kerr, “the man” for Team USA last summer, but he also breathed new life into a Timberwolves franchise that has labored in mediocrity and dysfunction since trading Kevin Garnett in 2007.
Throughout this season, Edwards, 22, has been, despite his youth, Minnesota's undisputed leader on and off the court, in public and private moments, and has propelled his team to a game of his first appearance in the Western Conference finals. in 20 years.
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Stephen A.: 'Game 7 begins with Anthony Edwards'
Stephen A. Smith puts into perspective how great Anthony Edwards will have to be for a Timberwolves victory against the Nuggets in Game 7.
DOES NOT SEEM as if there was a single moment during Minnesota's 45-point victory in Game 6 on Thursday night when ESPN's cameras weren't focused on Edwards. He scored 11 points during what turned out to be a decisive 24-2 run in the first quarter. To his gestures throughout the game, inciting the crowd to continue chanting “Wolves on 7!”
They also captured a handful of moments that captured something much more subtle, something that team insiders and those close to Edwards say has not only cemented the team's culture, but also led Minnesota to its most wins since 2003. -04, when the Wolves made their debut. one and only appearance in the Western Conference finals. These are signs of leadership, despite turning 22 just 10 months ago and still being on his rookie contract.
“I've never seen a leader who was able to just…act like he's 30 years old,” Timberwolves center Naz Reid told ESPN. “You'd think he was 30 years old.”
When the Wolves built their lead to 26-11 with 2:53 left in the first quarter of Game 6, Edwards ran to the team huddle during a timeout. Karl-Anthony Towns, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaden McDaniels and Reid were sitting on the bench, looking at Edwards. Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert were next to him doing the same.
“This is what I was talking about the other day,” Edwards told them. “We got a lead and we felt comfortable.”
Holding an NBA playoff towel and a water bottle in his left hand, he made a powerful gesture with his right, emphasizing each word.
“Keep your foot on the gas,” he implored.
And they did it. The lead never dropped below 12 points and extended to 50 midway through the fourth quarter.
“Just the way he grew, I always say my sophomore year, his rookie year, just the way he grew as a basketball player and that person,” Reid said, “he's completely night and day.”
Afterward, Edwards, who scored a game-high 27 points, used his postgame interview to congratulate Jaden McDaniels for what he said was the team's best performance of the night.
“This guy right here,” he said, pointing at McDaniels. “He led us tonight. Everyone on our team is a leader, and he was a leader tonight. He took a big step forward.”
McDaniels, who scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, responded in kind. “My teammates give me confidence. Ant gives me the most confidence.”
You are not alone.
In the postgame press conference, Edwards praised Towns for his defense on Nikola Jokic and provided a glimpse into how he has tried to lead the foul-prone Towns.
“He's been defending him throughout the series. He's been doing an outstanding job,” he said. “The main thing today was that his ass didn't get into foul trouble, like I told him in the Phoenix series… I cursed him. I cursed him every time I had the chance. Stop fouling. I think you see it. Yeah KAT doesn't foul, we can practically win the game. Tonight, he fouled three times.
“I told him today, 'We're thankful you didn't foul… because if you foul, we lose. You're the best matchup we have for Jokic.'”
These are just a few of the public moments, from a singular game, that show Edwards leading his teammates, young and old. But there's a lot more going on off-camera, heavy lifting behind the scenes.
Like when he texted his teammates after Game 1, saying he didn't like the way he shot the ball and that he was going to a local college to shoot the night before Game 2. Anyone who wanted to join he was welcome, he said. Reid, McDaniels and Alexander-Walker received the invitation. But it wasn't exactly optional.
“That's what you want, right?” Reid told ESPN. “Let your best player lead by example, not words?… We are all super young, but we all know that the sky is the limit for all of us, especially him obviously, but he wants to take us forward and that is dope.”
EDWARDS HEARD THE talk…and I knew I had to stop.
When Towns was out for five weeks following meniscus surgery in March, the Timberwolves finished 12-6. Questions began to arise about whether the team would be better off without him.
As soon as the anti-Towns narrative started, Edwards shut down anyone who dared to suggest it.
“He's an uplifter,” assistant coach Micah Nori told ESPN. “All he does is try to raise the bar.”
Edwards stayed in close contact with Towns while he was away, making sure he felt included (and needed) while he rehabbed, and publicly celebrated his return.
Towns was touched.
“I've always strived to be the best teammate I could be,” Towns told ESPN. “From day one, I've done everything to win here in Minnesota, no matter how much people have tried to discredit it.
“So to have someone here and immediately see who I am as a person and as a teammate and respect that and never put that down is humbling.”
Towns has had a long, often frustrating history since the Wolves selected him No. 1 overall in the 2015 draft and struggled to find him the right co-star. He was first paired with fellow No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins. Then there was Jimmy Butler's harrowing experience. And finally, the personal palette cleanser with his close friend and former No. 2 overall pick, D'Angelo Russell.
None of those matchups worked out, leaving Towns frustrated and sometimes forgotten as the Wolves struggled for relevancy in a stacked Western Conference.
When the Wolves selected Edwards No. 1 in 2020, it was essentially their last chance to get it right with Towns. He has performed better than anyone could have imagined.
“This has led to a friendship and a relationship that I don't think many people get to have,” Towns said. “I don't know many NBA players who get to have the kind of relationship where you really know it's pure love for each other. As much as he wants to see me win, it's more. I want to see him win even more. “
Hill has watched all of this unfold as a TNT announcer, the leader of Team USA, and a contemporary of the two all-time greats to whom Edwards has begun drawing comparisons: Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
And with Edwards' first Game 7 on Sunday, he has a chance to add another point to an already impressive resume.
“He is still is emerging,” Hill said. There's no telling how much more it will grow.
“What's so impressive about what Ant is doing is that he's still so young. He's already a vocal leader. He's a connector. People listen to him and follow him.
“I say it with respect, but with Kobe, with LeBron, with Steph [Curry], it took them a while to accept that. Evolve. And he's already done it at such a young age.”
