Anthony Edwards spoke at Team USA’s media scrum at their training camp earlier today. He spoke about playing alongside Kevin Durant on the team, and he noted that Durant is the alpha on their team when it comes to late-game situations. He also added that the two had been speaking prior to camp, and he couldn’t turn down the chance to play alongside KD at the Olympics.
“I think Kevin Durant. He better be. That’s who I came to see… We been talkin’ the whole time. It’s dope.”
More Anthony Edwards, on who the "alpha" is on Team USA when the game is on the line:
"I think Kevin Durant. He better be. That’s who I came to see."
He mentioned that when he found out KD was on the team, he couldn't say no.
"We been talkin’ the whole time. It’s dope."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) July 7, 2024
Edwards and Durant haven’t gotten the chance to play together on Team USA. Edwards was coming off his rookie year when Durant led Team USA to their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Olympics. Edwards played for Team USA at the last FIBA tournament, where they suffered a disappointing loss to Canada, and not even achieving a top-three finish.
Edwards and Durant played against each other in the playoffs this year. Ant and the Timberwolves got the better of Durant’s Suns, as they swept them in the first round of the playoffs. It was a coming-out party for Edwards, who put on an incredible performance against one of his basketball idols.
The Timberwolves would end up reaching the Western Conference Finals on the back of Edwards’ performances. It was the first Western Conference Finals for the Timberwolves since 2004. While Ant couldn’t finish the job against the Mavericks, he showed that he is one of the elite players in the league and will be one of the faces of the NBA in the coming years.
Anthony Edwards Thinks He Is Team USA’s Number One Option
Anthony Edwards’ comments on Kevin Durant were in response to his comments earlier in the scrum about him being the number one option for Team USA. He feels as though the rest of the squad will need to play around him, and he wants to step up as the best player for the squad.
“I’m still the number one option. Y’all might look at it differently, I don’t care… I gotta go out there and be myself. Shoot my shots, play defense, they got to fit in to play around me. That’s how I feel.”
Edwards had an incredible season with the Timberwolves last year, averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, as he led the Timberwolves to the third seed in the Western Conference. He will be looking to keep that same energy as he and Team USA head to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Edwards may feel that he is the number one option, but he will have no choice but to be deferential to the rest of the squad. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid are expected to be the starters alongside Edwards for Team USA.
With the cachet these players hold, they will be given more control over decisions on the court than Edwards, who is still very young in his career, and is yet to achieve the success that the players mentioned here have.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
