Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has often been compared to Michael Jordan, so who better than the Chicago Bulls icon himself to give him some advice? Jordan shared some tips with Edwards this offseason, and he spoke about what he had learned on media day.
“Just getting to my spots, pulling up, shooting over the defender,” Edwards said. “I think the best tip that he gave me is most people lean on people in the post with their a**, and he do it with the top part of his back. So I think I learned that from him.”
NBA insider Shams Charania had reported that Edwards was studying Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s post-up game in the summer. The 24-year-old was watching their tapes to understand how they were able to get their shots off in those situations.
The Timberwolves believe this could become Edwards’ go-to element in critical moments in the playoffs, and Jordan gave him a nice little assist in that process. Prior to this, the three-time All-Star had also reportedly reached out to the Hall of Famer for advice on beating double teams. While Jordan hasn’t had a problem helping out Edwards, the youngster revealed they don’t really have a relationship as such.
“Nah, we don’t really have no relationship,” Edwards stated. “How y’all think we got one right now? It’ll come in years to come, but right now it’s just through somebody.”
Jordan views Edwards as a special player, which could be why he’s willing to help despite the lack of a relationship. It will be interesting to see how much of an improvement we’ll see from him in the arenas that he mentioned.
An area where Edwards improved drastically in the 2024-25 season was outside shooting. He led the league in threes made with 320 and was efficient too, shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc.
Edwards ended up averaging 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in the campaign. He led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, but they lost in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They had lost to the Dallas Mavericks in five games at the same stage a year ago as well.
The Thunder, in particular, managed to keep Edwards in check, as he averaged 23.0 points per game in that series. It was clear he needed to add to his game if he were to stamp his authority in games against them.
Edwards was asked what it would take for the Timberwolves to close the gap to the Thunder, and he rightly isn’t fixated on just one team.
“I don’t think it’s just the Thunder,” Edwards stated. “I think it’s a whole bunch of teams that got better this summer. I think the Nuggets are going to be really damn good. You give [Nikola] Jokic a couple of shooters, man, it’s going to be hard to beat them. So, I think we got to focus on more than just the Thunder.”
You would back Edwards to get over the hump someday, but he’d still have a long way to go before he even comes close to being mentioned in the same breath as Jordan. The Bulls icon won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles in his career. Jordan is widely regarded as not just the greatest shooting guard of all time, but as the GOAT.
