Former NBA player and ESPN analyst Jay Williams was shocked as to why Anthony Edwards was receiving consideration for being the “Face of the NBA” ahead of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Williams expressed his thoughts on the matter on “First Take” and said:
“All I wanna say is, how many times has Jayson Tatum been to the Eastern Conference Finals. How many times has Jayson Tatum been to the NBA Finals? Brother could win multiple championships, and we’re just going to give it to Ant [Edwards]? Because he has a personality?”
Williams’ responses immediately caused an uproar on the panel as people stepped in to defend Edwards’ claim to the title. Some even presented the “assassin mentality” as part of the argument.
However, Williams raises a valid point. At 27 years old, Tatum is a far more “successful” player than Edwards.
The Celtics star has been to the NBA Finals twice and has come away as an NBA champion once. In his seven-year career, he has yet to miss the playoffs. With six All-Star selections and four All-NBA nominations, Tatum is certainly the more accomplished player.
This current state of affairs, where Edwards is presented as the future of the NBA ahead of Tatum, stands to prove Paul Pierce‘s statement about the Celtics star. Tatum may very well be the most disrespected superstar in the NBA.
However, several elements factor into why Edwards has been hailed as the future of the league as well.
At 23 years old, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard is one of the most electrifying players on the floor. When considering his recent performance in the series against the Los Angeles Lakers, it is hard to ignore the astronomical trajectory the young star is on.
Edwards took huge steps in his professional career by becoming the league-leader in three-pointers made this season as well. In this case, his skill doesn’t dwarf in comparison to Tatum’s either.
This season, the two stars have faced off against each other twice. Both games resulted in wins for Boston as Tatum shone with an average of 29.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists. Meanwhile, Edwards put up an average of 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
In a head-to-head matchup, the Celtics star can boast successful outings against the Wolves star for the season. While this may have been overlooked due to recency bias, there may be more reasons to proclaim Edwards as the future ahead of Tatum.
A major aspect that stands out when comparing the two is that Edwards plays in the Western Conference, featuring tougher competition due to the condensed presence of the league’s biggest stars. By factoring in the additional elements of media attention and personality, the Timberwolves star has all the makings of becoming the “Face of the NBA”.
With both stars making it out of the first round of the playoffs, there is still some hope to see them compete in the NBA Finals. Considering the form Edwards has been in the postseason, he and the Wolves would pose to be an interesting matchup for the reigning champions, should they make it that far.
