At just 22 years old, Anthony Edwards has already established himself as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard led his team to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nearly two decades and has his sights set on the MVP award this season. Recently, Edwards made headlines for a bold comment regarding Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.
During an interview with comedian Chris Tucker for Interview Magazine, Tucker asked Edwards if he’d like to play a one-on-one game against Morant. The Timberwolves star didn’t hesitate to express his confidence.
“Oh yeah, he’ll be back this year,” Edwards said. “A lot of people, I ain’t going to say they forgot about him, but he went under wraps for a few months because he hasn’t been playing. But as far as one-on-one, yeah, I can probably cook him.”
Morant’s return is highly anticipated, as the dynamic point guard was limited to just nine games last season after suffering a shoulder subluxation during practice.
Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies look on during the second half at FedExForum. Justin Ford/Getty Images
Edwards differs from Jordan and Bryant’s leadership styles
In the same interview, Edwards opened up about his leadership style, which he admits differs from the hard-nosed approach of legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
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“I can agree to disagree, because in today’s game everybody’s different,” Edwards explained. “You can’t talk to everybody the same. Some players can take it. I talk to some of my teammates like, ‘Hey, get your s— together.’ But others, you’ve got to pull aside and have a more private conversation. You can’t really cuss them out in front of everybody.”
Edwards eyes NBA MVP
As the Timberwolves look to build on their success and make a deeper playoff run, Edwards has set his sights on an even bigger prize: the NBA MVP award.
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“Yeah, hell yeah, for sure, no question [that I have the game to be the MVP in the league],” Edwards said in an interview with NBA TV. “And that’s what I’m going for. At this point, ain’t nothing else to go for. I got a great team. I got no excuses [not] to win games. Great coaching staff, great organization. Now it’s on me to make it happen. I’m definitely going for it.”
