Minnesota Timberwolves had high expectations for Anthony Edwards, making him the overall first pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, and the 22-year-old is more than living up to the hype, attracting a lot of attention. None more so than the iconic Michael Jordan, who complimented Edwards by saying they have similar playing styles.
Edwards continued to improve his performance this season, being selected as an All-Star once again with averages of 25.9 points (46.1% field goal percentage), 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as he led the Timberwolves to top the Western Conference.
With 57 wins and 25 losses, it is the franchise’s best record in two decades and the second best in the NBA this season behind the Celtics (64-18), but his biggest achievement this season might be by catching the eye of Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all-time.
“Anthony is a special player” admitted Jordan to ESPN, and earlier this year Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard revealed that Jordan had admitted to him that he saw things in Edwards that reminded him of him.
“Yes, there are similarities with me in the way he plays,” Jordan, who won four NBA Championships, told Broussard.
High praise, but it’s justified. Edwards has proven to be not only one of the best young players in the league, but an MVP candidate with the potential to be one of the most dominant players in the NBA for years to come.
But it’s not just his quality that counts, it’s also the way he works on the court and the characteristics of his game, with a privileged and explosive physique that allows him to fly at 1.98 m, and his unbridled ambition, that have led him to be compared to Jordan in many conversations.
Is the praise right? And how does Edwards feel about it?
Even his Timberwolves’ head coach, has made those comparisons as well as his colleagues, adding a lot of pressure to the youngster’s head but how does he shape up in a direct statistical comparison to the billionaire ex-player?
Edwards, aged 22, has averaged 25.9 points (46.1% from the field), 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists this campaign, helping the Timberwolves to third in Western Conference (56-26), just behind the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
They’re also fighting in the Western Conference Semifinals, where they’ve taken Nikola Jokic’s defending champions to the brink by pushing them all the way to Game 7 although they did hold a 2-0 lead, so they’re far from happy.
Meanwhile, Michael Jordan, at the same age, averaged 28.2 points (51.5% shooting from the field), 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a rookie with the Chicago Bulls, but despite his great contribution, they finished with a 38-44 and lost in the playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his second season he could only play 18 games due to a foot injury, but still scored 22.7 points (45.7% field goal percentage), 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists showing that the pair are matching similar levels of output at the starts of their careers.
But the young star of the Timberwolves is no stranger to the increasing volume of comments in the NBA world that comparing his style, talent and mentality to Jordan, although he has his feet on the ground and is wary of that comparison.
“I want this to end,” Edwards told Fox Sports when asked about it. “He’s the best of all time. I can’t compare myself to him.