Anthony Edwards is Team USA’s breakout star in his Olympic debut and is embodying the definition of improvement after bringing the Wolves within an inch of the NBA finals. His unprecedented rise since entering the draft has pitted him as the next face of the league. That would mean fans are drawing parallels between him and Michael Jordan. But someone who’s played against MJ, won a few championships, and coached champions, pulls the brakes on this hype train. That’s Sam Cassell, who stood out in the vacuum Jordan left for two seasons.
Cassell hands down believes he wouldn’t have won his first two chips with the Rockets had Mike not retired in 1993. On The Knuckleheads Podcast, he was firm that Ant is good but not yet at His Airness levels. “Antman is a good ball player,” Cassell started off and held his hand above his head to emphasize. “His limit, his ceiling is high, but it ain’t Michael Jordan-high.” He feels so strongly about it, he said it twice.
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dominated the ’90s. But the Houston Rockets are the small glitch in that timeline led by a formidable Hakeem Olajuwon. Cassell was no slouch either, but he said the Magic Johnson wall was tougher to get past before Jordan entered his prime. In the ’90s, Jordan was the hurdle for any team in the playoffs, including Houston.
“When Michael Jordan shot the ball, you thought every shot he shot was going in. The man shot 50%, man, 51% in the playoffs. So his game went up even higher,” was how Cassell defined the Black Cat’s invincibility.
In comparison, Edwards has taken the Minnesota Timberwolves to the playoffs for the first time since Kevin Garnett did in 2004. He was a tough contender but didn’t make it to the finals. He’d cement his status as the face of the league when he’s made a finals appearance.
Ant is closer to Michael Jordan’s Olympian cieling
Antman is meanwhile on his Olympics debut, looking more like Charles Barkley trash-talking Angola than the silent assassin Dream Team Jordan was. He’s packing the smack talk with all his offensive power on court. The Olympics rookie contributed to Team USA’s win to Brazil before they faced Nikola Jokic and Serbia again.
Before the game, Ant celebrated his 23rd birthday Olympic style. Wolves’ new owner, Alex Rodriguez threw him a massive surprise bash in Paris on August 5 with his teammates, the women’s team, the USA gymnasts, Edwards’ family. After turning 23, he was game-ready.
Jokic put Serbia in a 17-point lead at the start in the semis. But Steph Curry made up the deficit with nine 3-pointers and leading USA to the gold medal game. Edwards was uncharacteristically quiet against Serbia. The self-proclaimed No.1 option scored two points and sat out most of the game, letting the vets take charge.
Edwards and the team are now playing for gold against France on Saturday. His first Olympic medal would bring Antman one step closer to Michael Jordan’s resume.
Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.