Shaquille O’Neal formed one of the greatest duos in NBA history with the late great Kobe Bryant, as they three-peated together from 2000 to 2002. On The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal was asked to pick a current player he would want to team up with and the 52-year-old chose Anthony Edwards.
“Anthony Edwards, because he is a dog,” O’Neal said. “And when I get tired of posting you up and busting your a**, I do have some guard skills, I’ll step out, I’ll bring Victor Wembanyama out with his long self, pause, and then I’ll just dump it down to Anthony Edwards all the time.”
With how often former NBA players talk down on today’s ones, co-host Adam Lefkoe asked what makes Edwards so likable for every generation.
“The way he plays, he plays the right way. He plays hard and he plays with that tenacity,” O’Neal stated.
Edwards and O’Neal would have been a terrifying duo. Their two-man game would be nearly impossible to deal with for the opposition and they would have gone on to have a great deal of success.
We saw dynamic guards like Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Penny Hardaway thrive alongside O’Neal and it would have been more of the same with Edwards. It’s hard to see how these two together wouldn’t have won a couple of championships.
While Edwards will never get to play with O’Neal, he is playing with two great big men in their own right, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. Together, the trio has led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 56-25 record this season. The Timberwolves are currently in a three-way tie for the top spot in the West with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets and could get that top seed if they win their last game against the Phoenix Suns.
They are 0-2 against the Suns this season, though, and the Timberwolves would be relying on Edwards to get them over the line this time. The 22-year-old is averaging 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season and will need to put in a special performance on Sunday.
Shaquille O’Neal Said Anthony Edwards Reminds Him Of A Young Bryant And Wade
This was far from the first time that O’Neal had spoken glowingly of the Timberwolves star. Back in March, O’Neal compared Edwards to Bryant and Wade.
“When you’re playing against a young cat that wants all the smoke and wants your spot, don’t matter if you’re up by 22, you better continue to play hard and take them out,” said O’Neal. “This kid right here is not stopping, he wants it… He reminds me of a young DWade and a young Kobe. He’s going to score, he’s going to get his every time. He’s playing super aggressive and I respect the kid and love the kid because he wants it.”
The Timberwolves would be delighted if Edwards ended up becoming as good as Bryant or Wade. While I don’t think he will have a career as great as Kobe’s, he might have a chance to match Wade. Edwards has all the talent and the right mindset in order to be great and it all just comes down to delivering on the court.
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