Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has gradually emerged as one of the most exciting and dominant players in the NBA today. His postseason achievements in a very short period have led Gilbert Arenas to claim that the 23-year-old will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. While addressing the matter on “Gil’s Arena“, he said:
“Man, he’s on a different path,” claimed Arenas, addressing Edwards’ playoff accomplishments compared to players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Luka Doncic. “All the players you named? You’re talking about first ballot Hall of Famers.”
“He’s being dominant at an early age,” he added. “From here it’s just continue growing, continue understanding the game, understanding your weaknesses, cleaning them up. And then, the maturity and wiseness of basketball and just studying.”
Arenas also stated that Edwards was currently a beneficiary of this success due to his youth and inherent skill. He concluded his statement by saying, “Once he starts being a master of the game, that’s when we’re going to see what he’s really about.”
At only 23 years old, Edwards has racked up three All-Star appearances, one All-NBA team selection, and an All-Rookie team selection. Besides this, he has recorded career averages of 23.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Needless to say, Arenas has set a very high bar for someone who has only been in the NBA for five seasons.
Edward’s performances in this iteration of the postseason have only added to his overall legend. The journey to the NBA Finals has displayed how the Wolves guard has embraced the role of leadership thrust upon him.
The playoff run has also been a special one. In the first round, Edwards and the Wolves went up against the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Doncic and James.
Considering how heavily favored the Purple and Gold were in this matchup, it seemed like this series was poised to be rather one-sided. Inevitably, it was. Just not in the manner expected.
Edwards took the fight to the Lakers. He was masterful in the way he facilitated the game for his team and took over the reins on the offensive end when necessary. His transformation from being a flat-out scorer to being a multifaceted weapon made him a nightmare to defend.
This aspect was displayed in the following round against the Golden State Warriors as well. Although the team was shorthanded, with Stephen Curry out of the rotation with an injury, the Wolves made sure to put the series away early, ensuring their place in the Western Conference Finals.
The first set of games in the WCF against the top-seeded team in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder, spelled disaster for the Wolves. However, Game 3 saw a miraculous performance by Minnesota’s 23-year-old star to establish some semblance of control in the series.
Edwards led his team’s dominant winning effort with 30 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on shooting splits of 12-17 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. With a convincing 143-101 win, the Wolves ended any notion of a sweep and secured a solid foothold for themselves in the series.
Game 4, in this regard, becomes increasingly crucial for Minnesota. With an opportunity to level things up before hitting the road again, the team will look to their young star to take over and go toe-to-toe with the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again on Monday night.
