Team USA secured its fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but for many players, the most valuable experiences came during practice. Recently, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards opened up about the lessons he learned from Golden State Warriors‘ Stephen Curry during their training sessions.
Team USA’s practices were highly competitive, as some of the NBA’s top talent faced off in scrimmages that rivaled actual tournament games. Speaking to reporters during Minnesota Timberwolves Media Day, Edwards shared that his biggest takeaway from the Olympics was learned during those intense practices.
“I think that was the best part about the whole thing—the practices,” Edwards said. “The best thing I learned was from Steph. I took Bron’s pre-game routine, but with Steph, it was all about playing without the ball.
“The last few days, we’ve been playing five-on-five, and I just keep cutting, getting out of the way, and I’m getting easy shots,” he continued. “I think I learned the most from Steph.”
Edwards sets sights on MVP award
As the Timberwolves aim for a deeper playoff run, Edwards has his eyes on one of the NBA’s top individual honors: the MVP award.
“Yeah, hell yeah, for sure, no question [that I have the game to be the MVP in the league],” Edwards told NBA TV. “And that’s what I’m going for. At this point, there’s nothing else to go for. I’ve got a great team, great coaching staff, and a great organization. Now it’s on me to make it happen. I’m definitely going for it.”
Minnesota will enter the season without star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who was traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick via the Detroit Pistons.
“I think everybody know KAT’s my brother,” Edwards said. “So that definitely hurt. It’s a business. I just gotta roll with it. They (Randle & DiVincenzo) not here yet, so I’m ready to get to know them. Get it figured out as fast as we can because we’re trying to get back where we was and go even farther.”