Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young compared Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
Edwards, who has starred for Team USA during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, is looking poised for a breakout season when the NBA returns for the 2023-24 campaign this fall.
Young called Edwards the “new M.J.” and believes he’s a star in the making.
Anthony Edwards is the New MJ, Says NBA Champion Nick Young:
"The league is about to be @theantedwards_. This is Anthony Edwards league now, the new MJ. That boy looks just like MJ out there," says @NickSwagyPYoung.
"They should have gave it to Anthony Edwards. They would have… pic.twitter.com/fALKnP0q94
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) September 7, 2023
Edwards scored 35 points in Team USA’s loss to Lithuania in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, making 14 of his 26 shot attempts. Team USA is now in the semifinals and will take on Germany for a chance to advance to the title game.
During the World Cup, Edwards has put together some dazzling games for Team USA, scoring 22 points on 16 shots in a win over Jordan and scoring 14 points with seven rebounds and three assists against New Zealand.
Young, who has played with stars such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Nikola Jokic in his NBA career, clearly sees something special in Edwards.
The Timberwolves youngster has a long way to go before he can even consider being in the same class as Jordan, who has six NBA titles and six NBA Finals MVPs. The Hall of Famer is arguably the greatest player in the history of the NBA.
Still, Edwards has flashed an uncanny ability to score the basketball in his first three NBA seasons, averaging 21.8 points per game.
He was named an All-Star during the 2022-23 season for the first time in his career. The former No. 1 overall pick finished the season averaging 24.6 points (a career high), 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc.
He helped lead the Timberwolves to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, but the team lost to the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets in the first round in five games.
Edwards was great in the playoffs as well, even though it was just five games. He scored 41 points in the team’s Game 2 loss and averaged 31.6 points per game in the series against Denver.
If Edwards continues to make strides in his game and can lead Minnesota deeper into the playoffs, the Jordan comparison from Young may start to hold a little more weight.
