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Anthony Edwards was all smiles as he fielded questions during Timberwolves’ Media Day on Monday.
During his time at the press conference table, it was noted he was no longer “one of the young guys” on the team.
“I’m 24, y’all,” he responded.
So it’s time to get going, then.
While Edwards meant the statement as a reminder he is still a young player, many of the game’s best in recent decades fully exerted their league-wide dominance at that age.
In their Age 24 seasons ..
–Michael Jordan won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award.
-LeBron James won his first MVP award.
-Kawhi finished second in MVP voting.
-Kobe Bryant finished third in MVP voting.
Winning the MVP this season is a stated goal for Edwards. Asked how he can join that conversation – Edwards has yet to finish in the top six in voting – he noted the Timberwolves have to “win at a high level,” while adding he needs to “average a whole bunch of points.”
The former is certainly a requirement to claim the honor, and the latter never hurts your bid. But Leonard averaged just 21.2 points when he was MVP runner-up. However, that was also the season in which he claimed his second straight Defensive Player of the Year honor.
At age 24.
And he’s not alone in his two-way excellence:
In their Age 24 seasons:
-Michael Jordan also won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
-LeBron James finished second in DPOY voting.
-Kobe Bryant made his fourth-straight NBA All-Defense team.
Those players separated themselves from the pack by dominating both ends of the floor.
That’s something Edwards has yet to do consistently in his career. In five seasons, he has not sniffed an All-Defense team. That’s despite having the physical ability to be one of the League’s biggest defensive disruptors.
His transition block at the buzzer to beat the Pacers in 2024 stands as one of the most electric defensive plays of the decade. More recently, Edwards was the motor behind Minnesota’s dominant defensive display in its Game 3 win over Oklahoma City in last year’s Western Conference Finals.
“We all have seen the type and level of defender Ant can be,” Finch said.
But those moments have been far more the outliers than the norm for Edwards early in his career. The guard is talented enough to raise that level in spurts. But it hasn’t been engrained enough to be who he is.
His pressure on the ball comes and goes. His off-ball attention wanes. His effort fluctuates. His post-Jan. 1 defensive rating was far and away the worst on the team last season (113.6).
Can that be different this season?
“Ah, it’s going to be tough,” Edwards said.
Why? Well, Mike Conley noted after that Game 3 performance from Edwards that he has the thought of “Why don’t we do this all the time?” when the guard is wreaking defensive havoc. But the veteran noted Edwards is “asked to do a lot.”
“So it’s really hard for him to give the energy all the time that he can defensively,’ Conley said at the time.
That’s a fallacy in the mind of Wolves coach Chris Finch.
“It’s an NBA mantra that if you do so much on offense, you’re allowed to not play defense,” Finch said. “The best teams don’t do that. They do what’s necessary as much as they possibly can.”
The same is true for the best players, as proven by the greats who’ve come before Edwards.
The Timberwolves held a team dinner Monday on the eve of training camp. Conley said the discussion was centered on what the team’s goal was for the season. The consensus was a championship.
For Minnesota to contend for a title, it has to be one of – if not the – best defensive teams in the NBA. That can’t happen without Edwards serving as a gamebreaker on that end of the floor.
“Ant, you want to win a championship, we expect you to guard like you’re a top-five perimeter defender in the league, which we believe you are,” Conley said. “Jaden, myself, whoever is out on the court, we have a job to do, and then we got to be consistent every single day. And Ant’s at the front of that. Especially on that defensive end, with him competing the way he can compete, we’re a completely different team.
“He knows it, and it’s going to require a lot more. It’s going to get him uncomfortable, a little bit. A little bit more tired, a little bit more in shape he has to be. But those are things we’re trying to round out to try to knock down that door.”
Truthfully, Edwards has worn down by the end of each of Minnesota’s last two playoff runs. You have to be in phenomenal shape to be one of the game’s true two-way players.
Edwards seems to understand as much. Tim Connelly, the Timberwolves president of basketball operations, said Edwards’ work ethic has always been great, but noted it was “at a whole other level” this summer. Edwards looks leaner in camp and lighter on his feet. He feels as though he’s quicker and can jump higher. And he noted he now has eight-pack abs, to boot.
“His body is in unbelievable shape,” Connelly said. “It’s pretty impressive to see how quickly he’s matured, not just as a player, but as a professional with his approach.”
That includes sleep, something Edwards made a point all offseason to get 7-to-8 hours of each night.
How much shuteye was he getting in past seasons?
“None of your business,” Edwards replied with a smile.
He pleads the fifth.
“The little things, the consistency, the maturity of getting to the next play. This is what’s going to take him from a really, really good player to a unique, all-time great player and I think is what’s going to allow him to be the best in the world at impacting winning,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “I really sense that he understands that now. … I think he understands his recovery, his sleep, the way he eats, all these things are really going to impact his success and our success as a team. It’s fun to see that. It’s good to see. I’ve been on his (butt) for a few years, but it’s fun to see that. That, to me, is clear maturity. He’s still really young, but to watch that he understands that now and he carries himself that way, it’s going to come a long way for us.”
Edwards is skeptical he can join the likes of Leonard and Jordan in winning Defensive Player of the Year, noting Gobert and Jaden McDaniels are already in that conversation for the Wolves. But the goal of making an All-Defensive team – a tongue-in-cheek aspiration in the past – is now a legitimate venture as he aims to “show the world” the defender he can consistently be.
“Because we’re trying to get back to the number one defense in the league, and I know it starts with me, especially my pressure on the ball,” Edwards said. “I can’t guard one game and not guard the next game because we’re playing, you know, somebody who’s not up to par. I’ve got to be ready every night, and I’m going to take pride in that. I told my teammates to hold me accountable, coaches included.”
You hear that, Finch?
“Ant has got to measure up here,” the coach said. “Just continue to be that every-night player at a high level that we know he can be, which is what you need to do if you want to be an MVP in this league. I certainly think he’s got the DNA for it, and he just has to really fully embrace it.”