The Minnesota Timberwolves franchise relies on Anthony Edwards to lead them to victory via a great performance almost every single night. Edwards started to run into the issue of double teams last season after the franchise traded away Karl-Anthony Towns. Opposing defenses felt that double teaming Edwards and forcing his teammates to hit shuts was the best plan on many occasions.
Michael Jordan confirmed a rumor that Edwards and the Timberwolves asked the retired legend to provide some advice on the doubles:
“I had a conversation this summer with a high executive at Minnesota, and he was talking about Anthony Edwards. I heard during the course of the year that they were double-teaming. He didn’t know how to deal with the double team,” said Jordan to Mike Tirico on NBC.
“That’s the highest respect you can ever get if a team feels like they gotta double-team you. Now, how do you break the double team? Those are the types of conversations I try to have when players seek that information.”
Edwards received some strong praise from Jordan by saying the double teams are the ultimate honor. Only truly dominant offense stars deal with this issue, and Jordan was among the best at handling it.
Did Jordan Give Anthony Edwards Advice?
Jordan didn’t give the full information about his advice to Edwards when asked about getting through tough double team defensive schemes. The offseason reports claimed that Edwards went out of his way to request advice from Jordan since they have similar game styles.
Edwards has been compared to Jordan for a couple of seasons now since he took the step into superstardom. Minnesota has made two of their three franchise-best Western Conference Finals appearances over the past two years. Edwards gets most of the credit for leading the franchise to more success than anyone before him did.
Jordan discussing this means that the conversations were real and he likely reached back out if bringing it up months later. Edwards is having another spectacular season and averaging a new career of 29.8 points per game. The Timberwolves can only go as far as Ant takes them, so Jordan’s advice can be quite helpful.
Can Anthony Edwards Follow Jordan’s Blueprint?
An elite shooting guard putting up high scoring numbers at a young age will always get compared to Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Edwards’ highest potential could see him in the top three shooting guards of all time with these two generational figures.
However, a lot more success is needed for Edwards to pass other names above him like Dwyane Wade, Clyde Drexler and James Harden. The early playoff success is helpful, but Edwards must win a title or an MVP Award to truly start moving up any all-time list.
Jordan may already too far out of reach for Edwards to match since multiple titles are needed fast for anyone challenging the greatest of all time. Edwards earning Jordan’s respect to get advice and praise for his play on national television is certainly doing something right. Minnesota must hope Ant is the man to lead them to their first NBA Championship.
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