There is only one Michael Jordan.
But when Air Jordan calls a young NBA player “special,” it’s clearly time to start paying attention to everything that Anthony Edwards does in the playoffs.
The 22-year-old guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves has already taken down Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic in the postseason.
Now, only Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks stand in Edwards’ way as the Western Conference finals begin and the NBA Finals await.
MJ was ahead of the curve in praising the highly athletic and confident Edwards, who is averaging 28.9 points on 50.4 percent shooting in the playoffs while leading the best Timberwolves team in 20 years.
“That brother is special,” Jordan told ESPN in April. “No question about it.”
Jordan also told Fox Sports that he sees some of himself in Edwards’ aggressive playing style, which regularly involves no-holds barred trash talking.
Since then, Edwards followed a cold sweep of Durant’s Phoenix Suns with a triumphant Game 7 road win over Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets.
Karl-Anthony Towns was supposed to be the new franchise face for the Timberwolves, but “Ant-Man” has become the hottest name in the postseason.
The guard is changing in the NBA.
For the first time since 2005, the conference semifinals were played without LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Durant.
“In Dat Mode,” Edwards posted on Instagram. “#LockIn.”
Edwards once told an interviewer that he could do anything at a high level — tennis, swimming, hockey … or cook food.
“Whatever you need me to do,” he said. “I bet I’ll be A1 from day one,”
Victor Wembanyama could soon become the new face of the NBA.
The 7ft 4in “alien” was unanimously named Rookie of the Year and spent his first season wowing fans on social media with unbelievable stats.
But the current reality is that Wemby stars for a bad San Antonio team and it could be years before the Spurs can dream of playing in the Western Conference finals.
Edwards and Minnesota are doing that right now, 20 years since Kevin Garnett won NBA MVP while leading his T-Wolves to a 58-24 record.
Since Air Jordan changed the league in the 1980s and ’90s, the NBA has promoted individual stars over teams, using the biggest and best players to build a worldwide brand.
Now, it’s Edwards’ time to shine on an international basketball stage.
“I’m proud of the way he’s accepted the kind of growth he needed to have to be where he is,” Minnesota veteran guard Mike Conley said. “It’s not easy for a 22-year-old to make that adjustment so quickly.”
It wasn’t long ago that Edwards was being humbled by Steve Kerr when the Golden State Warriors were on top of the basketball world.
“I thought I was working hard,” Edwards said. “When [Kerr] came, I was going through drills and he kept stopping them, like, ‘That’s all you got? That’s all you got?’
“And I’m like, ‘Bruh, I’m going hard as you want me to go. What you want me to do? I’m sweating crazy.’ ”
Edwards still ended up going No. 1 overall in the 2020 draft to Minnesota, which had recently gone through a 13-year playoff drought and spent several seasons as the worst team in the NBA.
In May of 2024, Ant-Man is dominating with Jordan’s trademark supreme confidence and intensity.
“Mr. Edwards,” TNT analyst Charles Barkley said. “Ant-Man is here to stay.”
Something special is happening with Edwards.
If he keeps sinking 3s, shrugging his shoulders and collecting big playoff wins, the new young face of the NBA won’t be the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, Wemby or Doncic.
It will be a 22-year-old who was called Ant-Man by his father when he was three, and only switched from football to basketball because the sport with a bouncing ball appeared to be more fun.
The same young wolf who was publicly praised by Jordan after being criticized by Kerr.
“There’s no weaknesses in his game,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “It’s going to be a hell of a challenge trying to slow him down.”